q_id stringlengths 5 6 | title stringlengths 3 296 | selftext stringlengths 0 34k | document stringclasses 1
value | subreddit stringclasses 1
value | url stringlengths 4 110 | answers dict | title_urls list | selftext_urls list | answers_urls list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
d296e2 | what is sea foam and how is it created? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d296e2/eli5_what_is_sea_foam_and_how_is_it_created/ | {
"a_id": [
"eztjeq6"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"You know when you pee in the toilet and it creates bubbles? That's what seafoam is. Proteins in your pee or the ocean float to the top and link together creating a film. The agitation of the waves mixes air into the film creating bubbles."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
1wzq91 | why do school hours not match working hours? | I know that a lot of working people struggle picking their kids up after school, so why does school finish so much earlier than an average 9-5 day job! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wzq91/eli5_why_do_school_hours_not_match_working_hours/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf6t7h7",
"cf6w01m",
"cf6xhtm"
],
"score": [
11,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"That means teachers would go home at 7 or 8pm, school buses would have to contend with commuter traffic, and students would be walking home in the dark most of the time.",
"Because school hours aren't subject to market forces like work hours are.",
"It's because when the times were setup it was to take into account farm jobs, not the modern 9-5 city jobs. That is also why summer vacation in America exists. A lot of the rest of the world does not do this as it is detrimental to learning."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
9qzikr | sometimes i find "4k" version of a movie that has smaller size than a 1080p version movie. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9qzikr/eli5_sometimes_i_find_4k_version_of_a_movie_that/ | {
"a_id": [
"e8cwc74",
"e8cwdid"
],
"score": [
9,
2
],
"text": [
"What you are seeing is compression. Compression is basically using math to figure out what parts of an image can be thrown away and calculated again later, instead of sending every pixel.\n\nThere are many different kinds of compression, some are lossless, meaning the full image can be rebuilt perfectly pixel for pixel. Others have some loss, but they can get even smaller. JPEG is an example of compression with loss, you can see JPEG start to get fuzzy, because the compression is allowed to make small mistakes to get the image to be smaller.\n\nWhich one is better? It is hard to say without knowing what kind of compression they went through. The FHD could be basically uncompressed while the 4k image is compressed with a lossless method. This would mean that the 4k is better even if it is smaller. Once again, I don't know what you are looking at or how they were compressed, so I don't know for sure.",
"The 4K video likely used another compression algorithm that is newer and result in smaller files with higher quality. \n\nHigher compression require more computation so the algoritms depend on the development of computers. The prime limitation is for live broadcast where you has to compress the video in real time. Another limit is that you need to be able to manufacture hardware that can decode it a a low cost.\n\nAnother part is that research result in better way to compress video."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
2qqej2 | why does the gas in a clear lighter look like liquid but comes out at gas? why is this physical state change so quick? | Just realized I have several typos in the title, thank you for the answers so far though! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2qqej2/eli5_why_does_the_gas_in_a_clear_lighter_look/ | {
"a_id": [
"cn8iais",
"cn8icnq"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"It is liquid when under pressure, as in the lighter's reservoir. The headspace is filled with the gaseous form, which provides the pressure to keep the rest liquid. When you press the lever, gas comes out to be ignited by the spark. The decrease of pressure allows more liquid to volatilize for the next light. The warmth of your hand or pocket helps this along.",
"The gas in the lighter is [butane.](_URL_0_) It boils at around the freezing point of water, but is held in a liquid state in the lighter because it is under high pressure. While under pressure, the boiling point is raised, but when you light the lighter, you are releasing the pressure, which causes the butane to boil and be released as a gas."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane"
]
] | |
12yidq | how did disney pay for lucas films? | Did they write a check? Cash? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/12yidq/how_did_disney_pay_for_lucas_films/ | {
"a_id": [
"c6z7pzy"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"I believe Disney paid in both money and stock. Which means they wrote the owner of LucasArts a very big check, but they also paid in stock which is like owning a bit of the Disney corporation itself. (If you want me to find the numbers for all of these just ask I'm feeling lazy at the moment)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
25xo7c | why does the water in my drinking bottle not boil when i'm in a sauna even though the thermometer on the wall often says 100˚c and upwards? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25xo7c/eli5_why_does_the_water_in_my_drinking_bottle_not/ | {
"a_id": [
"chlp83h",
"chlp8e9",
"chlsaed"
],
"score": [
5,
5,
4
],
"text": [
"100C is not unheard of in Sauna, 80+ is pretty normal actually also a 100F Sauna would be pretty puny. Even the \"coolest\" sauna's get to at least 140+F.\n\nReal reason water doesnt boil is probably that external temperatures well in excess of 100C are required to make water boil in the way we think of boiling. It would take more than 100C to radiate enogh heat to a bottle of water than a 100C sauna can. Same reason that you don\\t get cooked in sauna. Yes, it is hot, but being hot and transferring that much heat into your body are two very different things.",
"Guys, it's definitely Celsius. 100F temperature in a sauna is nothing.\n\nOP, the answer is that water takes a lot of energy and time to boil. If the sauna is barely above 100 the water will slowly evaporate long before it starts to visibly boil.",
"Largely for the same reason that a 100˚C sauna doesn't kill you. If your internal body temperature got anywhere near that high, you'd be dead in moments. 105˚F is a guaranteed trip to the emergency room, and that's quite a bit cooler than what you're talking about. Air, especially dry air, doesn't have a lot of material in it, so the heat from the sauna is communicated to objects (you, water bottle) in the sauna pretty slowly. Just like you can grab a piece of aluminum foil straight out of a hot oven -- you are changing the temperature of the foil under your fingers more than the foil is changing the temperature of your fingers, and you don't get burned."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
9k1zpy | how do deep sea creatures and fungi develop bioluminescent abilities? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9k1zpy/eli5_how_do_deep_sea_creatures_and_fungi_develop/ | {
"a_id": [
"e6vsx1e"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"As with the rest of evolution, small mutations take place that give a species a survival advantage which will allow that gene to be passed on and further propagated."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
9tyzl6 | why are cellphone cameras more secure than computer webcams? | At various workplaces, they'll make you cover up the computer webcam but not your work cell phone. People have told me that phone software is more secure than computer software, but it's not clear to me why. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9tyzl6/eli5_why_are_cellphone_cameras_more_secure_than/ | {
"a_id": [
"e9078lt",
"e907a7t",
"e907k13"
],
"score": [
9,
5,
5
],
"text": [
"In general most computers can load and run software from anywhere. Although this is what makes them great it makes them much easier to hack vs a device like a smartphone that can only run software from the app store. \n\nPhone software also uses much more layering in the software so that it is very difficult even if a malicious program got installed for it to cause any damage to the underlying OS. If you installed something malicious simply removing it is sufficient on mobile devices in most cases to be sure it's gone. On a computer however you would have to completely wipe the system and start from a clean image to be sure anything malicious is totally removed. \n\nAlso everything on mobile devices more or less run in their own container whereas on computers everything all pretty share the same resources and access level after install. \n\n\n\n",
"The only reason is that regular users have more control over their personal computers than they do with their phone. The more control you are given, the more likely is it that you might have installed malware. \n\nPhones usually force you to go through some vetted app stores, and on top of that put many restrictions on what the software can do. Malware does often slip in though, more commonly on Androids, but unless your phone is rooted, software has a difficult time accessing the camera.",
"I wouldn't say phones are particularly secure. But some differences come to mind.\n\nThe main likely difference is that a cell phone most of the time is going to be inside a pocket, pointed at the desk, or at the ceiling. A computer webcam on the other hand is pretty much purpose made to be pointed at something of at least some interest, so it's far more likely to record something sensitive. A laptop with the lid open and on a desk is in a good position to record the whole room. A phone will very rarely get the same point of view.\n\nA phone has more limited applications that work in a more restricted environment -- hopefully that means a phone is less able to start randomly recording. If the fancy calculator app asks for webcam permissions, that would be suspicious. PCs don't get that sort of thing.\n\nA phone shouldn't be running world-facing services. You can certainly install the wrong thing on it, but it should be pretty hard for the wrong thing to install itself without your help. A computer provides rather more opportunities for that.\n\nPhones install software largely from shops managed by large companies that like maintaining a good reputation. Certainly there's a lot of fishy apps out there, but something outright malicious would eventually get removed. PCs don't have the same sort of thing currently.\n\nPhones are largely self-updating, which hopefully also closes some security issues.\n\nA phone is battery powered, and if something was recording all the time it'd drain the battery fast -- that can lead to noticing something isn't right.\n\n\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
4r9g49 | why can we easily pour a lot of booze into ourselves during a party but two cups of tea/water/etc. in a row makes us feel full? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4r9g49/eli5_why_can_we_easily_pour_a_lot_of_booze_into/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4za4iw",
"d4za65l"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"Part of it is social/peer pressure. We expect to drink a lot, so we force ourselves to.\n\nAnother part is that alcohol is a diuretic - it makes you pee more, which makes you dehydrated, which makes you want to drink more.",
"I think this is a little subjective? I mean, I can easily drink 2 liters of soda (the fizzy kind) in a sitting and I don't necessarily feel full. It depends on what you ate/drank before, I guess. Also, drinking beer never makes you feel bloated? It's pretty frequent for me. This would depend on how much it takes to get \"knocked down\"...\n\nYou also tend to drink beer a lot slower than you'd drink something else out of thirst. So you kind of have a perpetual \"break\" in there."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
8t1e8u | why do bombs detonate when you clip the wrong wire? is the scenario true or only a product of media? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8t1e8u/eli5_why_do_bombs_detonate_when_you_clip_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"e13vecx",
"e13veqn"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"Do you mean why, in a strategic sense? If you've made a bomb, you presumably want it to explode and cause damage. Allowing it to be easily disabled would thwart your goal, so you could boobytrap it, so that someone attempting to deactivate it would set it off, such as by disrupting an open circuit (e.g. cutting the wrong wire).\n\nIt *can* be true, it's not true of all bombs, and I don't believe they even necessarily have wires at all. There's not a set standard for the 'bombmaker's art.' \n\nDefinitely a *lot* of what you see is tv (countdown clocks speeding up, stopping, existing in the first place, etc).",
"The whole cut a wire thing is mostly a product of tv. Most bombs are either surprisingly easy to disarm or basically impossible to disarm without knowing what's inside because very insidious bomb makers will make it so they detonate while trying to disarm them. A common bomb squad technique involves using a shotgun shell or water cannon to attempt to either destroy the detonator or detonate the bomb itself in a controlled way"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
5gwu07 | how do marriage proposals work in the us? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5gwu07/eli5_how_do_marriage_proposals_work_in_the_us/ | {
"a_id": [
"davoav4",
"davq3g0"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"A lot of what you're asking varies a lot depending on the couple. \n\nIn general though, a couple will have know that they want to get married. Sometimes they'll have a timeline, sometimes it's more a general \"sometime in the future/soon\" kind of idea.\n\nAs for rings, again it will depend. Some couples have discussed what kind of styles they like, some guys have a good idea based on what kind of jewelry their girlfriend wears. There are some couples who will just use a stand-in ring and buy the real ones later, especially if the couple wants matching bands. And people pay so much for them because it's a cultural thing -- but that's a generalized statement too, as not everyone will pay a ton for a ring. Lot's of couples will buy rings that cost around $100-200 or less. \n\nRing price also depends on style, as well. Some of the more popular or unique styles will cost more, depending not just on the gems but on if it's customized or handmade.",
"It's a cultural thing. Usually the man proposes to his girlfriend without her knowing that he's bought a ring and it's a surprise. \n\nHowever more and more these days, couples have been together (and living together longer) and rather than spend a small fortune on a ring the girlfriend doesn't like, the couple would shop together for a ring. Or in my friends case, she just told her boyfriend exactly what ring she wanted a few years into the relationship (when marriage was the next step for the both of them).\n\nI don't think there are any rules on how expensive an engagement ring is, however I do think a general rule of a certain percentage of a guys salary (I've heard 1 month - 3 months salary, no actual \"rule\") makes some sense.\n\nThat being if a guy makes $10k a year then he'll buy a ring for $833 (if they're following 1 month \"rule\") but if he makes $1mil a year then a $83,333 ring would make sense. But like I said there is no \"rule\", no one should feel pressured to buy something expensive or out of their budget. Some girls I know would rather a burger ring to a diamond ring, it's really just up to the couple."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
2qbguy | why are there laws that restrict viewership in other countries? | "Not available from your location " | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2qbguy/eli5why_are_there_laws_that_restrict_viewership/ | {
"a_id": [
"cn4l94a"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"It is the right of the content creators or owners to control how their content is used; this is the basis of the intellectual property system we have. That includes the right to let others use those rights, or not, in whatever ways the owners see fit. Maybe the owners just have a huge problem with Paraguay or something, and have decided not to let their content be used at all there. Or maybe (much more likely) they've simply decided to sell those rights to someone else."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1x5he2 | the difference between 4wd hi and 4wd lo. | I understand the difference between 4WD and AWD, and even between the different types of AWD. My GMC manual explains what 4WD HI and 4WD LO are FOR, but not what they ARE. I know that if I need to use 4WD LO that I've done, or am about to do, something stupid. But what exactly is changing in the vehicle when I switch from four wheel drive high to four wheel drive low? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x5he2/eli5the_difference_between_4wd_hi_and_4wd_lo/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf8a6wf"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"4 Low is a lower gear set, for when you need more power. You're using a gear set that moves more pulling power to the tires, in exchange for extremely limited speed.\n\n4 high is a higher gear set, for when you want power to all 4 tires, but don't want to be as limited in your speed.\n\nIt's the 4WD equivalent of first and second gear vs drive or higher gears."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
8w1ti8 | what is midi and how is it used? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8w1ti8/eli5_what_is_midi_and_how_is_it_used/ | {
"a_id": [
"e1s0p9w",
"e1s0xqy",
"e1sptle"
],
"score": [
6,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"[Wikipedia article](_URL_0_). \n\nIt's a set of standards (computer software, cables / connectors, etc.) for connecting musical instruments to a computer, in order to record or create music.\n\nYou always have the option of using a microphone next to an acoustic instrument to record it, but this would result in recording the \"sound\" (.wav file) rather than the \"notes.\" \n\nThe MIDI interface records the notes; you can connect a MIDI keyboard or MIDI guitar and play the notes you want, and the computer can then change the \"sound\" of the notes from violin to piano to drums to synth / electronic, whatever you want.\n\nThis lets you use a keyboard (for example) to first record the drum beats, then record the bass guitar over the drum beats, then add piano, violin, guitar, whatever; basically you can create a full symphony or full song with just a keyboard - you don't need all the instruments that an orchestra needs.",
"It transports signals regarding device information (key strokes, knob control, buttons, foot pedals) between machines. Usually the signals travel from a controller to a computer that interpets them. USB has taken it's place in most modern equipment.",
"It's pretty cool. Each time you press a button or turn a nob on a midi device, a signal gets sent through a cable saying \"this thing was activated at this level\". Everything in midi is some combo of \"thing activated (or thing unactivated)\" and \"amount it was activated\". How hard you press it or the position of the nob is always 0 to 127.\n\nNow imagine a music keyboard with volume and some keys. When I press C as hard as I can, it sends \"C was pressed at 127\". When I turn volume up from all the way off to all the way on, a series of messages are sent \"volume 0, volume 1 ... Volume 127\"\n\nThis info can be stored on a computer or sent to other midi devices. Either way the device that's receiving it can use that info to play specific sounds. And if it's on a computer or a sequencer you can \"fix\" that time you hit the wrong key. Boom you got music.\n\nIt's also used in lighting equipment, sometimes being driven by musical midi messages."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI"
],
[],
[]
] | ||
1rxalk | why do democracy in africa never seems to work? | In Africa,with the rise of democratic states,democracy had never seem to work. Instead of democracy,the continent have noticed systems that are spin-off from true democracy. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rxalk/eli5_why_do_democracy_in_africa_never_seems_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdrtwmc",
"cdrwyoi"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Huge amounts of corruption and tribalism. Africans are hugely prejudiced against other tribal and ethnic groups and will oppress them mercilessly when given the chance. Remember slavery in America? European traders weren't just jumping off the ships with nets looking for some dark skinned people, they were purchasing slaves from African tribes which had enslaved other tribes. The market may have died down these days, but the cultural problems are alive and well in Africa today.",
"Part of it is the colonial history - basically the british, Portugese, Belgians and french who ran the place were corrupt, so local people taking over think they get to be corrupt too. That plan made more sense when you took your bribes and went back to your home country. \n\nIn poor countries corruption is easy. Lets say the average income in your country is 5000 USD a year. So how much do you pay your politicians? 15, 20k somewhere in there sounds reasonable right? But then... some western company looking to dig oil out of the ground or the like can pay 100k, in bribes - that would be the equivalent of a Western politician collecting ~ 1 million in bribes, but for 1/10th the price. It means corruption pervades society, from the top down. Corruption is the ultimate enemy of the people.\n\nI will also point out that most of africa are republics, and the history of republics is not all that inspiring. The US clung to slavery longer than western countries, and had to fight a civil war to be rid of it - and it still has government shut downs and pervasive corruption. France, the great leader of republicanism in the world is on round of 5 of trying to build a republic because the first 4 attempts all had serious flaws (the US has had serious flaws too but has tried to more gradually address them). Germany went republic and murdered 30 million people. Etc. \n\nIn addition to problems with being poor and corruption African borders don't necessarily make any sense - most of the borders in Africa were actually decided in 1885 in Berlin by a bunch of european powers drawing lines on a map about their colonial territories, or they are carved up entities by the British and French in the 1950's and 60's sometimes deliberately constructed to make states have serious internal conflicts (they did this in the middle east too). \n\nAdd to that the same problem africa has always faced: Climate. Africa is a big place, and has a diverse climate. But in North africa and a large chuck of the place you have a giant desert, and it's hot. Damn hot. That saps worker productivity. South of the Sahara you have jungle, which breeds malaria and other tropical diseases, a constant problem and a constant drain on government coffers. \n\nStandards of success are also different in africa. Democracy is useless if everyone is starving to death and dying of preventable diseases. So you have this long string of corrupt democratic governments who get overthrown in coups by someone who is possibly just as corrupt, but who promises to solve the 'starving and dying of malaria' problem. And sometimes, believe it or not they actually do. That's why Africa's population has been exploding since 1950 and why Nigeria is poised to pass the US as 3rd most populous country in the world by 2050 or so. For all of the things that are going wrong in africa, through a series of coups and wars and revolutions and everything else they have managed to push infant and maternal mortality rates down dramatically (except in south sudan) - not as low as europe certainly, but lower than they were, and they have managed to feed most of these people (with some problems due to climate and locusts and those sorts of things). As bad as it seems in Africa now, their priorities - sanitation, basic healthcare etc. are all things the rest of us take for granted. But those are big big deals. \n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
199dbn | why do we have to press ctrl + alt + del to log into a locked windows account? | Why not start with the login screen or at least add an option clickable with a mouse? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/199dbn/eli5_why_do_we_have_to_press_ctrl_alt_del_to_log/ | {
"a_id": [
"c8lyuzr",
"c8lzjkw",
"c8lzme6",
"c8m0cn3"
],
"score": [
3,
36,
5,
4
],
"text": [
"I don't know if this is still true, but originally in the Windows kernal, the combination ctrl-alt-delete is reserved for windows. This means that nothing you install on the computer could use this key combination, so it prevented malicious programs from giving you fake login prompts.",
"The Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination is known as the [Secure Attention Sequence](_URL_0_) on Windows. This is not overridable by software outside the operating system. Pressing the SAS means you are guaranteed to get a response from the operating system, not from some other software.\n\nThis is important because malicious software might try to emulate the login screen to capture login details and passwords. The SAS prevent this.\n\nWhen designing Windows NT 3.1, the developers looked around to see what key combination wasn't used in any shipping application, so it didn't cause compatibility problems. The only one they could think of was Ctrl + Alt + Del, because it was the reboot sequence on DOS-based PCs and therefore not used by applications. \n\nTwenty years later we still have the same sequence for pretty much the same reasons :)",
"As windows always tells you CTL + ALT + Delete cant be used by any other program, when you press it only Windows can react. Its built into the OS to ensure a method of always accessing things like the task manager, power options, users etc. ",
"Back in the dark ages of PC computing, CTRL-ALT-DEL was used to \"pull the pin\" and force a reboot of the OS (MS-DOS or PC-DOS in those days). The combination was chosen because there was NO WAY anybody could possibly ever mistaken mash that key combination by accident, like you could possibly do hitting CTRL C (interrupt) instead of SHIFT C (capital C). Back then there were few industry standards, so every program used CTRL and ALT combinations at will. But the PC standard was always CTRL-ALT-DEL will force a reboot of the computer. Not sure if this will still work in a DOS environment, being how ingrained it is as a Windows keystroke combo."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_attention_key"
],
[],
[]
] | |
4sul4k | why does a car slow down when it down-shifts? friction? cylinder compression? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4sul4k/eli5_why_does_a_car_slow_down_when_it_downshifts/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5ccaqz"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The predominant braking effect from letting off the gas when a manual car is in gear is, as you mentioned, the compression of air in the cylinders. This is normally compensated for by the power stroke, but when you are off the throttle, there is very little fuel being provided to the intake, so the resulting power stroke makes much less force than the compression stroke requires, resulting in deceleration."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
498xr3 | how come study after study proves that 2-3 cups coffee a day is good for you, but energy drinks with are seen as very bad for you? | Sure, energy drinks also contain a lot of sugar, is that the reason they are deemed so bad for you? And since most soda contain rougly the same amounts of sugar as energy drinks, wouldn't the sodas be just as unhealthy as the energy drinks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/498xr3/eli5_how_come_study_after_study_proves_that_23/ | {
"a_id": [
"d0px1tr",
"d0pxhl8",
"d0pxj4s"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Does the study prove it's just 1 compound, caffeine that's the good part of coffee, or some combination of compouds? \n\nIncidently, _URL_0_ the roasting of coffee beans creates known carcinogens ",
"Energy drinks contain a lot of sugar, usually as much as soda, which makes them very unhealthy compared to unsweetened coffee. Energy drinks can also contain supplements like gaurana and taurine which may be harmful in high doses/harmful in general. The FDA tends not to regulate the supplement and vitamin industry so its difficult to know exactly what you're getting and in what quantities. In addition both sodas and energy drinks contain acids and other compounds that can be damaging to your teeth and bones. \n\nBlack coffee or coffee with some milk has no sugar, similar amounts of caffeine and minimal/no acids comparatively. In addition the milk can increase your calcium intake. \n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_3_\n\n_URL_2_\n\n_URL_1_",
"Yeah, carbonation in drinks is generally bad for you, complex sugar is bad for you is high doses, the flavoring used must be bad for you on some level...coffee, black, is not so bad. In moderation. I drink my coffee black, it's so damn good. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.google.com/#q=coffee+acrylamide"
],
[
"http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/01/16/are-energy-drinks-really-that-bad",
"http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/coffee-new-health-food?page=1",
"http://www.livescience.com/7198-acids-popular-sodas-erode-tooth-e... | |
djrig8 | how do frogs hear each other over other frog's croaks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/djrig8/eli5_how_do_frogs_hear_each_other_over_other/ | {
"a_id": [
"f47jk3r"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"They don’t, they just pick the loudest one and head towards it. They arent looking for one in particular"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
5nscqw | why is it considered romantic for human adults to refer to their sexual partners as "baby" or "babe"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5nscqw/eli5_why_is_it_considered_romantic_for_human/ | {
"a_id": [
"dcdzd8q",
"dce4790"
],
"score": [
6,
4
],
"text": [
"Psychologically, romantic love is similar in many ways to love for a child or parent, so that is probably part of why.",
"Well, it isn't universal. Calling someone a diminutive term like that in Swedish (for example) sounds just as ridiculous as it actually should. So basically, no, English does it for some reason, but not all cultures."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
1l2szo | why when we are put under pressure to think of something, we can't. | For example, if someone asked you to think of a word beginning with a letter, why you can't think of any examples. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l2szo/eli5_why_when_we_are_put_under_pressure_to_think/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbvbdsw",
"cbvg5l0",
"cbvgw2h"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
13
],
"text": [
"I don't know any real scientific answer but from personal experience, I find I get paranoid that I might not have the right answers, or that I won't be able to give a good enough answer or various other possibilities like that. Eventually it comes to a point where I think how embarrassing it is that I couldn't come up with an answer fast enough until finally I concentrate and come up with an answer.\n\nTL:DR I worry for ages that someone wants an answer, panic, get my shit together and then give a proper answer.",
"Try moving this to /r/askscience\n\nA fully scientific answer for this probably wouldn't be too hard to understand (unlike most questions submitted here), and you'll get a better response there",
"The reason is, when we are put under pressure (stressful situations), our brain simulates a fight or flight response which effectively gears us for physical action - our brains go into old school reptile mode and shut off the thinking through stuff/problem solving mode. So in short, we stress, our brains think we need to fight or run and put all our capacity into doing those things and we lose our FULL ability to think in the best way we can usually think.\n\nHope this helps!\n\nRay"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
wox9d | (if possible): the reimann hypothesis | Just curious. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wox9d/eli5_if_possible_the_reimann_hypothesis/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5f7a2d",
"c5fayu4",
"c5fuxa4"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Basically, prime numbers are hard to find. Why? cause they don't seem to follow any sort of logic. However, Riemann suggests that there must be some function that would allow all the zeros in this function to be a prime number, and in doing so would make us an algorithm for finding all of them. \n\nThis is hard to do (and to rigorously prove) since no one has really observed how a prime number comes to exist. ",
" The distribution of the prime numbers has piqued the interest of mathematicians for centuries. Intuitively, the larger a number is, the less likely it is to be prime. To try and make this precise, one defines the function pi(x) to be the number of primes not exceeding x. This is a very complicated function so one hopes to be able to compare it to a better understood function. And indeed, we have a very beautiful theorem called the prime number theorem that asserts that for large x, pi(x) becomes more and more like the much simpler function li(x) = x/ln(x). (More precisely, as x goes to infinity, pi(x)/li(x) goes to one.)\n\n But this is in a sense unsatisfying as we are left with no idea of how quickly these two functions converge to each other. In Bernhard Riemann's seminal 1859 paper \"On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude,\" he introduced the zeta function and made a conjecture about where this function is equal to zero. In particular, he asserted that on a certain strip, all of the zeros lie in the middle. If this assertion can be verified, then one can obtain more precise results about how quickly li(x) converges to pi(x), but this has remained an open problem for over 150 years.\n",
"Finding primes has a large array of uses, like for computer science algorithms and credit card encryption. Basically, this is because we do not know all of the primes or how to find them, so it makes using primes much more helpful. The Reimann Hypothesis, at a basic level, is that there is a way to find all of the primes.\n\nFor pure mathematicians, this is just another one of those things that we find fun and do for the pursuit of knowledge. It would also help solve a bunch of other problems, especially ones dealing with primes."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
6m0y9i | how/why is elon musks australian battery farm such a gamechanger in the energy business, especially in regards to fossil fuels? | Ultimately a battery is just a storage device for energy. We put energy in, convert to physical form (cathode/anode and electrolytic solution). Then when we need energy, we allow a chemical reaction to occur, releasing energy again.
I keep hearing about how his battery farm is a gamechanger that will put fossil fuels out of business. But how is that possible? If a market experiences big swings in demand throughout the day, then the battery farm will benefit any generation company; not just renewables. Especially since they can just put their a lot of excess into the batteries without having to pay for it; as opposed to a standalone battery farm that buys at night and sells during the day. It's already the same idea as pumping water up a mountain at night, then letting it flow back down and turn some turbines for power during peak hours. (Just chemical instead of physical)
Heck, with the money they can throw around, a fossil fuel company can probably invest and benefit more than a smaller (not all are small) solar/wind company. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6m0y9i/eli5_howwhy_is_elon_musks_australian_battery_farm/ | {
"a_id": [
"djy1u19",
"djy2p2u",
"djy2z31"
],
"score": [
7,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Because energy generation like wind, tidal, and solar aren't consistent. It's easy to shovel coal into a furnace around the clock, but the sun is only out during the day.\n\nWith large battery stores, power can be generated when the conditions are favorable (regardless of draw) and stored for when conditions aren't favorable. It makes solar, wind, and tidal much more viable for large-scale power.",
"One of the biggest hurdles to having cities adopt renewable power sources like solar is that the power only works some of the time. It gets dark out, or there are cloudy days, so during those times, when the city needs power, it's not getting it. Currently, battery technology isn't really providing a good enough solution to that problem because batteries in general are large, relatively low capacity, expensive, bad for the environment, and wear out relatively quickly requiring expensive replacement. \n\nElon is working to shrink or eliminate that problem. ",
"It allows for the storage of green energy generated by solar or wind, since those methods for generating power are inconsistent... store surplus power on a sunny day to release if needed on a cloudy day. Without substantial battery capacity, fossil fuels are the typical fallback when renewable energy sources are insufficient for electricity demands."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
1avz8l | what happens when i adjust a vcr's tracking? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1avz8l/eli5_what_happens_when_i_adjust_a_vcrs_tracking/ | {
"a_id": [
"c919xh7"
],
"score": [
9
],
"text": [
"Curse_of_kintave is wrong. Well, he's right about the signal being encoded diagonally on the tape and being read/written with heads in a spinning drum that is tilted, effectively making the heads tracking the diagonal signal on the tape. It's a clever trick to encode way more signal on a relatively slow moving tape, hence having compact (for the 1970s anyways) cassettes. \n\nNow, all of that is cool, but every time the tape goes through the VCR, it is stretched a tiny bit. As the tape is stretched, the angle of the signal on the tape changes. Imagine drawing oblique lines on a rubber band and stretch that rubber band. That's exactly what happens. \n\nWhen you (or auto-tracking) adjust tracking, you effectively change the tilt of the head so that it matches the angle of the signal on the tape. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
4983hi | framework. what is it in terms of computer science? | Can anyone explain to me what framework is? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4983hi/eli5_framework_what_is_it_in_terms_of_computer/ | {
"a_id": [
"d0pq6g5",
"d0psmid",
"d0psu5v",
"d0pwi12"
],
"score": [
16,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Basically, uses something someone else wrote to do you work for you.\nImagine if instead of creating a new thread asking about frameworks, you instead used someone else's [premade well implemented questions on what a framework is.](_URL_0_) This would have save you time, freeing you to ask other questions more specific to your needs, rather than wasting your time on a general question that has been done tons of times before.",
"A framework is a skeleton of a computer application designed to complete some general task. It is waiting someone to customize, configure, and make write some extra code to make it do something specific.\n\nFor example, let's say you make custom guitars, and wanted to sell them online. You could try to write an application from scratch that did that, but that would be a lot of work, require a lot of technical ability, and could have serious consequences if you didn't do it correct. \n\nOr, you could use an ecommerce framework, which would come as a generic site you could customize into a guitar selling website.\n\nThe advantage is they save a lot of work and are easier to use. The disadvantage is they are less flexible, if the framework you chose didn't support PayPal, you would be out of luck.\n\n",
"The word means the same thing as it does in other contexts like construction. A framework is just generally a support structure that you build your structure on top of. A building framework is all the load bearing stuff that you then hang walls and rooms onto. A software framework is some set of functions that provide a supportive backbone to your actual software project.\n\nSo for example, a common type of framework in computing is an event framework. Events are a really useful way to control the flow of your program. So you make, or use someone else's, event framework to handle events for you. Then you make your actual project and create events that you pump through the event framework which will do the dirty work of handling events for you.\n\nSo it's a very generic term.",
"The current meaning of framework in CS sort of derives from its original definition.\n\n > framework n. A structure for supporting or enclosing something else, especially a skeletal support used as the basis for something being constructed.\n\nSo, basically, a framework provides a skeletal support, other tools, utilities, rules, and methods - to enable you to build the actual software system you are trying to build.\n\nIt makes it easier to build software by providing the common structure, and other useful libraries and tools, which you would otherwise have to spend time to figure out and write yourself.\n\nFor example, the Rails framework establishes a pretty well defined way to think about, structure, and organize your code. It then goes on to provide a whole slew of software libraries, tools, utilities, and methods to write a web application."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/search?q=framework&restrict_sr=on"
],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
9ehcod | how do birds see the fish they are hunting for from such high distance? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9ehcod/eli5_how_do_birds_see_the_fish_they_are_hunting/ | {
"a_id": [
"e5ozqml"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"They have eyes better suited for this task. Like the nose of a dog. A dogs nose can smell 200 times better than a human nose and has a way bigger \"smelling\" surface."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
3qqr4x | the difference between dry scalp and dandruff. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3qqr4x/eli5_the_difference_between_dry_scalp_and_dandruff/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwhj2n4",
"cwhjc7b",
"cwhkbfq"
],
"score": [
30,
68,
2
],
"text": [
"They aren't different, really. One is a common cause of the other. \n\nDandruff is just dead skin that flakes off of your scalp. Dry skin is a common cause of dandruff. But the reason people differentiate is because dry skin is not the *only* cause of dandruff. Dandruff can have many different causes, which can require different treatments, like dermatitis, fungal infections, allergic reactions, poor hygiene, etc.\n\nSo, for example, three people have itchy, irritated scalps and dandruff. One person has dry scalp skin, and needs an over the counter shampoo. One person has a fungal infection, which will need to be diagnosed by a dermatologist, and likely treated with a prescription product. And the other person is just washing their hair too often and needs to shampoo less frequently. All totally different treatment approaches for the same symptoms. \n\nAlso important to note that having a dry scalp doesn't mean you necessarily have dandruff. You might get a slightly itchy, tight-feeling head every winter and find that your hair is frizzy, brittle or breaking, but no flakey skin. That can be dry scalp, too.\n\nSo, think of dandruff as you would peeling skin. It's a symptom with a lot of different causes (like dry skin, sunburn, rentinoid use, allergic reaction, etc). But you could also have any one of those causes without peeling skin. ",
"From my understanding, dandruff occurs when you have a buildup of oil on your head, a harmless yeast begins to grow and feed off of the excess oil and dead skin cells. Because the skin cells are being disturbed more often, you will see the skin cells falling off and shedding more easily, plus they also clump together to form larger flakes. Shampoos like Head and Shoulders work well if you have dandruff because they strip the oil and help kill the yeast growing \n\nDry skin is simply the loss of moisture from your skin and scalp that makes you itchy and causes you to shed tiny white flakes. Dry scalp is often caused by cold weather, certain soaps, strong detergents, product build-up, diet, etc. To help with dry skin causing dandruff, you simply want to replenish the moisture using certain oils or \"home remedies\" (ex: Apple cider vinegar wash that helps restore the pH of your scalp). ",
"Have you ever heard of cradle cap? It's when infants get this yellowish, oily, flakey scalp skin that eventually comes off in big flakes. Google that; it's dandruff, aka infantile seborrheic dermatitis.\n\nOn the other hand, some people get white, powdery small flakes. That's what they show on commercials as \"dandruff\". That's usually not the same thing. That's just dead skin sloughing off because the scalp is dry. I've had this happen with my beard if I didn't conditioner and use beard oil regularly, because that part of my head produces way less oil than my scalp."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
1rez1n | how is the average iq level continuing to go up when it seems likely humanity isn't getting any smarter? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rez1n/eli5_how_is_the_average_iq_level_continuing_to_go/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdmkpig",
"cdml3fn",
"cdml5sk",
"cdmm0xk"
],
"score": [
6,
11,
9,
4
],
"text": [
"You can simply score well on the test and not really be that smart. For instance, you could practice the kinds of questions asked on an IQ test. It doesn't mean you are any smarter than anyone else, just better at taking the test. Sorta like how sometimes the \"dumb jock\" archetype could get straight A's in high school, but not have a single ounce of common sense, analytical reasoning, or even be functionally literate. ",
"It isn't. IQ is set to an average of the population, so the average intelligence of the population is always IQ 100. It's a normal distribution with mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15.",
"Everybody seems to be looking at it like IQ isn't telling us anything useful, but I think the OP may be underestimating humanity. Education throughout the world is better now on average than it has ever been, even in the US.",
"Environmental factors are going to weigh in a lot here. For starters you have the continually improving better nutrition/diet of people in the world over the last 100 years. Having a good diet while pregnant and being able to provide a good diet to your child while they're young will improve the average IQ of a population. Providing a stimulating environment for children also improves their IQ. Tons of other reasons but these are big ones.\n\nEDIT: Read this: _URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_health_on_intelligence"
]
] | ||
7fub0i | why do all the biggest chunks of cereal come to the top when you shake it after opening a new box? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7fub0i/eli5why_do_all_the_biggest_chunks_of_cereal_come/ | {
"a_id": [
"dqeetjt",
"dqegaiz",
"dqehrk9"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The bigger chunks leave more room for air between them, so it's easier for smaller chunks to move around, and because of gravity, they just want to move down. \n\nPicture the cereal at the bottom of the box. This is mostly powder, which leaves no room for air in between the chunks, without air there are no room for something to fall in.",
"It is more a case of the smaller ones going to the bottom, due to their size, rather than the larger ones coming to the top. The smaller ones fall through the gaps easier, leaving the larger ones at the top.",
"Interesting that this effect happen not only in cereal, but for example in earthquakes. \nBig stones may emerge from ground after powerful earthquakes."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
3jygrv | how did we know splitting the atom would release so much energy? | And how did we harness that into an atomic weapon? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jygrv/eli5how_did_we_know_splitting_the_atom_would/ | {
"a_id": [
"cutbtc4",
"cutcnk9"
],
"score": [
8,
4
],
"text": [
"Einstein showed that essentially all matter is energy and the conversion rate is very high (square of speed of light e = mc^2). So the amount of energy expected in nuclear reactions (between known ingredients and known output) could be calculated. \n\n\nHarnessing this energy is of course a major engineering feat. One of the greatest projects, the Manhattan project, worked out how to weaponize this into the A-bomb. \nThe nuclear reaction aside there were many challenges, how to get enough raw material, how to store it, how to trigger the reaction for maximum effect etc. \n\nFor peaceful uses, medical treatment, power plant the slew of issues were different and it took decades to work it out.",
"Research, testing, and theory gave scientists a good idea of what would be the most likely atoms to be created if the uranium atom split. Knowing that, they could handily predict how much left-over energy might be given off, because big atoms hold more neutrons than two little atoms, and protons could be thrown off also. So basically, stuff goes flying into atoms which are already ready to fly apart, and then they do. \n\nCalculating the energy release was almost the easy part. Engineering a bomb that would fit the theory and not kill everybody assembling it was actually the hard part. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
45imt5 | what causes clogged arteries? can it be reversed? if so, how? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/45imt5/eli5_what_causes_clogged_arteries_can_it_be/ | {
"a_id": [
"czy5qvj",
"czy7i3n"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Clogged arteries are caused by plaque, which is the result of a variety of substances building up on the walls of the arteries. It can be treated by adapting a healthier lifestyle consisting of balanced diets, regular physical activity etc. ",
"Also, how do you find out how bad it is? I ate a pretty balanced diet up until the last five or so years but I'm worried those five years have done more damage than I think. Is there a test I can ask my doctor to do to tell me? "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
37qxf5 | how the heck does insurance work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/37qxf5/eli5_how_the_heck_does_insurance_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"crp2f1m",
"crp2gbz",
"crp2i9o",
"crp2mbf",
"crp2mk9",
"crp2rz2",
"crp6f4b",
"crp8wbw"
],
"score": [
3,
5,
3,
130,
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"you pay a company a fee to cover unforseen accidents and the like. \n\nCar insurance is the easiest example. I pay insurance on it so that if something happens, like getting into a really bad accident that isnt my fault, im not stuck with a twisted ball of metal afterwards. The insurance company will pay for a new car for me since i payed them in case something happens. \n\nthey base your fee off of LOTS of data about people my age, gender, location, etc so that my fee is slightly higher than the chance i get into an accident times its cost.",
"you pay money to a company to insure you against something happening. if something happens, they pay you based on the coverage/contract. \n\ninsurance companies make money by assessing risk. lets say the risk of something happening is 1% a month and costs $100 dollars. so if they get 100 people each to pay 1 dollar a month. they break even. if that thing doesn't happen, they make money. they may also charge you a deductible before they pay, like say 20 dollars to get the 100 dollar benefit, costing the insurance company 80 dollars, but they made 100 dollars that month + 20 dollar deductible and only paid out 80. so 40 dollar profit.\n\n",
"A bunch of people pay a company every month for protection. Those with higher risk (in tornado alley, sick & elderly, lousy drivers, whatever) pay more. Company collections a TON every month. Then someone gets sick/in an accident/goes to the hospital/etc and the company has to pay out a little. If that person costs the company too much they either get dropped or pay SUPER high rates.\n\nBasically its a system of the many paying for the few, with the insurance company raking in the bucks in the meantime.",
"Let's say you go to school with 10 other nerdy kids and one bully who is always stealing one nerd's lunch money. Every single day the bully finds one random nerd and steals their $5.\n\nBut the teacher's won't do anything about it. They don't care.\n\nFortunately, you're one of the math nerds and have a bright idea.\n\nYou go to the other nerds and tell them that if they give you just $0.75 then you'll buy them lunch if the bully steals their money. You're selling them lunch insurance.\n\nThe other nerds think this is okay. They give you $0.75/day which leaves them $4.25 for lunch, which is still enough for a decent lunch. If the bully does take their $4.25, you buy them a $5 lunch. Sweet deal for them.\n\nHow about for you?\n\nWell, every day you collect $7.50 (10 X $.75) and you pay for one person's lunch ($5).\n\nThat means: \n\n- You make $2.50 /day\n- The bully still makes ~~$5 /day~~ $4.25/day (Woops! Thanks /u/ShadowPart)\n- No nerd ever goes without a lunch.\n\nConsidering the circumstances, it's a pretty sweet deal for everyone, huh?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n",
"Your risk is assessed, and that determines your payment. Riskier people pay more because they cost more. You pay into a pool, and when you make a claim, you take from that pool. So you're making payments now both for the oft chance you need a big sum of money you don't otherwise have and for the people who are currently withdrawing from the pool. Insurance is banking on the chance that people will be paying into the pool more than they would be withdrawing. When the pool is empty, everyone hence making a claim is basically fucked. Homeowners insurance is notorious for this. A flood happens, and the local insurance pools get wiped out. You will get your money, but it could be a long time, as the pool needs to be replenished and it's usually a first-come-first-served basis.",
"I work for an insurance company, and we like to put it this way: Insurance is just placing a bet that you hope you'll never win. \n\nEarly on, insurance was just sort of a *shared risk fund.* Business owners knew that if their factory burned to the ground, they'd never be able to rebuild. So they would group up and share some money. Maybe 10 factory owners know that their factory would cost $1 million to rebuild. That's a lot of money. But they also know that isn't very likely; maybe only 1 of those 10 would have their factory burned down. So they each agreed to put in $100,000, and whoever's factory burned down, got to take the money and rebuild. None of them could have rebuilt alone, but by sharing the risk, they didn't have to worry about it.\n\nNowadays, we have companies that specialize in doing that. If you pay $2,000 for car insurance and get into a $20,000 accident, you can bet that there were 9 other people paying that same $2,000 who didn't get into an accident; the companies calculate the odds of a \"loss,\" and the amount that people should pay based on their risk; this way, in the long run, the company will make money even after paying these big claims. \n\nAnd to the individual who files the claim, it's fairly likely that they'll get more back than they put in (in most lines of insurance), since they're basically subsidized by others who were luckier than them.\n",
"As an insurance agent licensed in many states (actually at work right now lol), you guys are providing very accurate responses. ",
"Basically you're paying another company to help you spread your costs over time. This is the same thing as the company taking a bunch of people and using the law of large numbers to turn uncertainty into an easily-predictable average.\n\nSay you make $10,000 per year. You know there's some small chance that you'll get hit by lightning and have to pay $100,000 to the doctor. It's not likely, but if it happened, you'd have to borrow $90,000 and that would suck. So instead you go to the insurance company and say, \"I'll pay you $1000/year if you agree to pay that $100,000 if/when it happens.\" \n\nNow you're making $9000/yr, but you don't have to worry about that $100,000 happening.\n\nOn the insurance company's end of things, they're insuring a hundred thousand people like you. They happen to know that there's a 9% chance of someone getting hit by lightning. For any one person, who knows when it'll strike, but over a million people, they're generally guaranteed to have around nine thousand people every year. So they charge $1000/person. They make a hundred million dollars each year, and they have to pay out $90 million, give or take, for those nine thousand people who get struck by lightning. \n\nThe insurance company profits by $10 million, which makes the employees and shareholders happy. The people being insured don't have to worry about paying the $100,000 if they get hit by lightning, so they're happy. Everybody wins. Except the lightning."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
67vg6a | since archeologists uncover the past by digging, is the earth growing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/67vg6a/eli5_since_archeologists_uncover_the_past_by/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgti54h",
"dgtq9u2",
"dgtvnnr"
],
"score": [
10,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Not really, no. There is some material falling from space but that isn't why things are found underground.\n\nThink instead of it like the dirt we have being moved around. Sometimes it buries stuff and we discover it later once it is old. But when the ground moves away from other stuff we don't find floating ruins later on, do we?\n\nThere is a selection bias at work here. Buried stuff is preserved, other stuff isn't.",
"Some stuff gets buried, most stuff doesn't.\n\nThe stuff that gets buried is still there to be found centuries later. The stuff that doesn't get buried typically gets destroyed.\n\nNote the expanding earth this a thoroughly debunked crank theory, comic book author Neal Adams is a famous proponent. If you search on it, you might find some people claiming it is true, but there is no scientific basis for it.",
"There is a rock cycle on Earth, where rocks are created, changed and destroyed. At volcanoes and spreading ridges, new rocks are created as liquid magma comes to the surface, cools and creates large mounds of igneous rock that we call volcanoes. This is caused by plate tectonics, where large plates of solid rock float on a jello like liquid made of rock under intense heat and pressure called the mantle. These plates also bang into each other, and crumple like cars do when they wreck into each other. These crumples form mountains. Over time these mountains and volcanoes weather as they are abraded by wind, rain, other dirt particles, and pulled down by gravity. If you ever go hiking on a mountain, just stop and listen for a while. You'll hear pebbles falling down a slope. This happening over time creates sediment (basically dirt and gravel) that falls into valleys and buries the stuff in the valleys. \n\nValleys collect the water and sediment that runs off the mountains and transports it towards the ocean, or in a few rare cases large lakes/inland seas. This creates rivers and fertile soils (as the new minerals from the mantle are introduced to the surface, weathered away, and deposited into the valleys). Civilization requires clean running water, and fertile soils, so most civilizations occur (at least the ones we know the most about) in these valleys where sediment is slowly being introduced. \n\nThat's why most archeological sites involve digging. The same is true for paleontology, because unless the conditions are perfect (something buried quickly in fine sediment, with mineral rich water running through it) then the fossils will not preserve. \n\nedit: volcanoes also weather"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
5z37gi | how do we all not have cancer? | With the rate of genetic mutations, and the rate the body produces new cells, how do we not all develop cancer early on in life? How does the body defend against new cancer cells? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5z37gi/eli5_how_do_we_all_not_have_cancer/ | {
"a_id": [
"deuxo9b",
"deuy5om",
"deuyi80"
],
"score": [
15,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"I was under the assumption that we have potential cancerous cells produced every day but our immune system combined with cell duplication checks usually destroy them before they replicate. ",
"Our bodies have 3 \"check points\" during our cellular reproduction. These checkpoints must either be met or the cell's reproduction process is shut down or the cell will be destroyed by a white blood cell. Our DNA also contains repair enzymes that go through and fix a lot of the mistakes in our genetic coding which fixes most mutations although some always get through. ",
"If we all lived long enough then everyone would get cancer eventually. On a long enough timeline it is a statistical guarantee because our cells are constantly dividing. Like a computer program running long enough, eventually a glitch of some sort manifests itself. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
2yyxfy | cricket. as an american, i'm so confused by it. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2yyxfy/eli5_cricket_as_an_american_im_so_confused_by_it/ | {
"a_id": [
"cpe8pcq",
"cpe9q1r",
"cpe9u1i",
"cpeaqut",
"cpedr6e",
"cpeikoi",
"cpej7vs"
],
"score": [
14,
6,
3,
2,
3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Like baseball, you have a team at bat and a team in the field. When at bat, the team sends out two batsmen instead of one. One batsmen stands at one wicket (a wicket is like a base in baseball), and the other one stands on the opposite wicket. The bowler (a pitcher in cricket) bowls the ball to the batsmen, and the batsman tries try to hit it. Unlike in baseball, they can hit the ball in any direction; there are no foul balls. When the ball is hit, the two batsman run back and forth between the wickets. However, they don't have to. If they feel that the ball wasn't hit well enough, they don't have to move. Every time they run to the other end, that's a point. If the batsman hits the ball, and it rolls out of the field of play (kinda like ground rule double), that's an automatic four points. If the ball goes straight out of the field (home run) that's six points.\n\nThe fielding team tries to prevent the batsmen from scoring. Similar to baseball, they can retire the batsman by catching the ball in the air, by breaking a wicket before the batsman runs to hit (like tagging out at a base), or they bowl over the wicket (like the pitcher throwing a strike, but one strike and you're out). There are a few other ways to retire the batsman, but they are more technical and I don't know them all. In cricket, the batting team has 10 wickets (outs), then the teams switch places. Depending on the type of game, each team has one or more turns at bat.\n\nThe other thing to know about cricket are overs. Overs are like innings, kinda. One over is six bowled balls. When an over is finished, the team switches bowlers, and they bowl to the other side of the field. Some games have limited amounts of overs. So, even if you don't get out ten times, you would still lose your turn at bat if you run out of overs.",
"Cricket explained by an American _URL_0_\n\n\"And then you get drunk. Which is the conclusion to just about every other British activity I know of.\"",
"Two teams. 11 players each. One side bats first, the other fields. Later on, they swap and the fielding team gets to bat.\n\nTwo batsmen go into the field and stand 22 yards apart at each end of the wicket. One batsmen is on strike, the other is at the non-striking end. You score points, or runs, by hitting the ball out into the field and running from one end of the 22 yard wicket to the other. Both batsmen have to reach the opposite end to score 1 run. Runs can also be scored by hitting the ball so it crosses the outer boundary (4 runs if it has touched the ground, or 6 runs if it has crossed the boundary without touching the ground).\n\nMeanwhile, the fielding side is attempting to get the batsmen on strike 'out'. A bowler has 6 attempts to either strike the wooden stumps, cause the batsmen to hit the ball so it can be caught, run out or approximately a dozen other ways. At which point the next batsman is in. Repeat until 10 men are out (the last man can't bat solely).\n\nMore tomorrow when the UK wakes up again, if you're interested.\n",
"After reading these explanations, watch a game and you'll understand much better.",
"recently a lot of americans have been asking about cricket,\n\n\n head to /r/cricket ,\n\n\n\n folks there are very helpful ",
"I'm British, and I never understood cricket until I went to Australia. Then it suddenly all made sense.\n\nCricket is just an excuse to sit around outside getting drunk with your mates. \n\nDoing this in a park will get you arrested. \nDoing this next to a game of cricket is civilized. \n\nDon't worry about the rules, these have long since been lost to history. Anyone who attempts to explain them to you is most likely drunk. Hopefully next to a game of cricket.",
"There's an old joke about the rules of cricket.\n\nYou have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. \nWhen a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.\n\nSimple, really."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oa1S0x9zI"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
kyz3x | how does ricin kill you | inspired by Breaking Bad | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kyz3x/eli5_how_does_ricin_kill_you/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2oerex",
"c2oerex"
],
"score": [
9,
9
],
"text": [
"Ricin is a protein that inhibits protein synthesis in the cells that it invades, and protein synthesis is basically what allows control of the cells in your body. Proteins are the units that act in the cell environment, and its synthesis is the \"recruitment\" process. Much like a police department that can no longer recruit officers when crime rises, the cell can't do anything to regulate its environment when protein synthesis is inhibited. As a result, your organs fail and you can die from any number of organ failures.\n\nBeyond being a plot device for Breaking Bad (which has some decent chemistry on the show), ricin has actually been used to assassinate [Georgi Markov](_URL_0_).",
"Ricin is a protein that inhibits protein synthesis in the cells that it invades, and protein synthesis is basically what allows control of the cells in your body. Proteins are the units that act in the cell environment, and its synthesis is the \"recruitment\" process. Much like a police department that can no longer recruit officers when crime rises, the cell can't do anything to regulate its environment when protein synthesis is inhibited. As a result, your organs fail and you can die from any number of organ failures.\n\nBeyond being a plot device for Breaking Bad (which has some decent chemistry on the show), ricin has actually been used to assassinate [Georgi Markov](_URL_0_)."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Markov"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Markov"
]
] | |
1pzjjb | why did it take ~200,000 years for humans to become civilized, by our standards? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pzjjb/eli5_why_did_it_take_200000_years_for_humans_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd7nbz6",
"cd7nq3a",
"cd7riwi",
"cd7wwnn"
],
"score": [
9,
6,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It took time for nomadic tribes to get to a point where settling down and farming actually made sense. When you're hunter-gatherers, you basically have to spend all your waking time searching for and preparing food, and there's no time left over to do anything else. It's literally not possible to get enough calories to change how you live. This is why the aboriginal peoples of Australia never got beyond hunter-gatherer tribes until Europeans landed there.\n\nEventually, nomadic tribes found wild grains that could be harvested at a certain time of year, and it became advantageous for them to stay in one place. They could then store grain and plant new fields in the spring. With this new strategy, they had a calorie surplus, which meant that they did not have to spend every waking moment looking for food, and societies could develop.",
"At the time of the transition to what could be considered anatomically modern humans, life would have been lived primarily on a day to day basis. All of a person's energy would have been devoted to finding enough food and shelter to remain alive, along with sleeping and breeding. In a hunter-gatherer society, little to no time would be free for thinking and experimenting, so social progress was understandably slow.\n\nThere is an evolutionary gap of some 100k+ years between humans that could be considered anatomically modern and those who might be called behaviorally modern, so much of the time you talk about involved developing the communication and thinking skills necessary for serious innovation. Several key developments spread during the Neolithic, most significantly the use of fire, the domestication of animals and the beginnings of agriculture. Populations gradually began to adopt a more sedentary, farming lifestyle but this took much time, and even by the bronze age some groups still lived predominantly as hunter-gatherers in Europe. \n\nThe comparatively rapid rise of modern civilization over the last 10,000~ years is primarily due to the development of more advanced social systems based off of an agricultural surplus and the discovery of metal, which could be used as a means of gaining personal wealth and power. In such a system the better off could devote their full attention to other matters (warfare, construction, invention, philosophy) without needing to worry where their next meal was coming from.",
"What do you mean by civilized? I guess your question might boil down to, what you think is civilized is due to your own civilization, and survivorship bias - since others have collapsed, ours really is the best that's come along yet. Native Americans weren't considered civilized despite being advanced cultivators and having extensive civilizations, because they weren't Christians and they didn't farm in neat little rows. But that has everything to do with what you think 'civilized' means.",
"I know we're not supposed to simply defer to other works, but I would seriously check out \"Guns, Germs, and Steel.\"\n\nIf we take the starting point of hunter-gatherers, and we know that in order to become civilized the way we mean today, they need to have agriculture (otherwise they will spend too much time hunting and gathering) and writing (otherwise they cannot efficiently record and disseminate knowledge to become civilized). \n\nAgriculture isn't easy to develop. Most plants in existence cannot be cultivated and most animals cannot be domesticated. Early precursors of agriculture were almost certainly accidental. Maybe you ate seeds and pooped them out, then came back months later to find new plants. Early agriculture was almost certainly limited to this kind of bonus food, where small amounts were planted, the tribe would go off doing its thing for a few months, then come back and see if the plants did well.\n\nImagine just how many generations of this it would take before you selected the seeds carefully enough and learned how to grow them well so that you could stop being nomadic and actually have a farm producing all your food. Imagine the experimentation with animals that eventually allowed you to turn dangerous wolves and wild boars into dogs and pigs. \n\nThat's step one. \n\nNow imagine that you begin trading with your neighbouring village. You need some way to keep track of who owes what. This is before coinage, but you can probably set up a basic accounting system by drawing lines. This is likely a precursor to writing. Now imagine just how many generations it takes for those lines on stone or in the mud to become written language. \n\nThat's step two. \n\nNow, with a basic form of writing and agriculture, you can begin to have towns and people can begin to have free time, with which they can study, discuss, and try to learn. Imagine how many generations before they develop science, art, engineering, and all the other things that you consider civilized by our standards. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
j2ozz | can someone explain venture capital funding like i'm five? | I actually went to a VC meeting once with the engineering team during my internship with a tech incubator. We developed a program (on mobile devices) that utilized cloud storage (very similar to _URL_0_ / Dropbox). We went just so the VC people got to know the team that was working 'for' them.
Some Questions:
1. Where does the money come from?
2. Do you eventually separate ties from them?
3. What are the different "series" / "stages" of VC? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j2ozz/can_someone_explain_venture_capital_funding_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"c28n4go",
"c28n8cw",
"c28nr3o",
"c28ntra"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I can help you out with 1 & 2, someone with more experience in the area will have to talk about VC stages, but that is largely a question of different levels of funding for different conditions/periods.\n\n1. All sorts of sources. Institutional clients, private investors, other funds\n\n2. Depends on the terms of their contract, the outcome of the start-up company (if it fails you will obviously sever ties with them), and the amount they fund. In many cases no, and most VC companies impose strict terms for companies they are invested in; there is sometimes quite a bit of money at stake.",
"In a nutshell, a person with a lot of money (either that they have personally, as part of a company, or as a representative of a pool) gives a new company money in exchange for owning a part of the new company.\n\nAs a company grows and becomes successful, the value of the part of the company owned by a VC increases. The VC is essentially 'betting' that the value of the part of the company will grow by more than the amount of money they gave to the company in the first place.",
"It's basically gambling. Investors invest in multiple start-ups knowing that a significant portion will fail, but hopefully the one or few that succeed makes enough money to make a significant profit overall. Basically lots of high risk high reward investments",
"1. With smaller VCs the money may come from an individual that runs the fund with a fortune they've amassed from some other business, but in most cases it will come from \"limited partners\", these are the VC's investors. These will be organizations like pension funds who treat VCs as the \"high risk\" part of their investment portfolio.\n\n2. Depends. They will own part of your company, and while they do you're tied to them. They may sell that part as part of a subsequent investment to another investor, or to the public after you IPO. Otherwise, you're stuck with them until you sell the company.\n\n3. They are:\n\n * Angel round - this is typically less than $1M, and the investor will typically be a wealthy individual who likes your business for some reason. VCs occasionally do investments like this, in which case its referred to as a \"seed\" round. At this point your company will be valued at less than $5M.\n\n * A round - this is typically $1M-$6M, and will be from a VC. At this stage your company will typically be valued between $5M and $20M.\n\n * B round - This is typically greater than $6M and less than $20M.\n\nAfter that C, D, E rounds all kind of blur together. The reality is that since the founders dilute (own less of the company) after each round, if you're doing a D round or later, something is probably wrong.\n\n*disclaimer* These numbers are based on my personal experience as an entrepreneur, a VC may be able to provide more accurate answers. There really aren't any formal definitions of these things that I'm aware of."
]
} | [] | [
"Box.net"
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
3ilrbq | after suffering a head injury how is it possible to lose all of your personal memories, but you able to remember your vocabulary and skills that you may have learned? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ilrbq/eli5_after_suffering_a_head_injury_how_is_it/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuhhsl8"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"[Episodic memories](_URL_2_) (memories of events that happened to you) are stored in a different part of the brain than the parts that deal with language skills. It's also a different part than is used for [semantic memories](_URL_0_) (memories of facts) and [procedural memories](_URL_1_) (memories of how to perform actions). Thus damage to part of the brain that lets you recall episodic memories won't necessarily affect other functionality. So you might forget events that happened to you, but not the capital of South Dakota, or how to ride a bike, or how to speak.\n\nSimilarly, you can have damage to the language portions of your brain that cause you to be unable to speak or understand speech, without affecting memories of past events."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_memory",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_memory",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodic_memory"
]
] | |
9zna3t | what exactly happens in our brain when we get "... stab this person", "... throw your phone into the river", "... run into a train" thoughts? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9zna3t/eli5_what_exactly_happens_in_our_brain_when_we/ | {
"a_id": [
"eaaj5az",
"eaaj8ga",
"eaamw36",
"eaan6hp",
"eaanjgr",
"eaao2xs"
],
"score": [
51,
44,
96,
5,
29,
15
],
"text": [
"The brain is like \"Hmmm, this is a potentially dangerous situation. What if I do something stupid? I'd better scare myself into being more careful by imagining exactly how bad it would go if I did this.\" ",
"I believe what you are talking about is “Call of the Void”. Look it up, pretty cool stuff. ",
"I remember reading about it being called the imp of the perverse. \n\nBasically it's a scenario where your brain does a morality check, your reaction to that thought is your genuine reaction.\n\nSo for instance if I suddenly think let's stab this person and my reaction is horror for thinking that, my brain is like ok that's the expected reaction, carry on.\n\nThe urge to jump from a high place or run into a train is often called l'appel du vide, call of the void. It's pretty much the same as the imp of the perverse, but the situation divers.",
"This is your brain most of the time. Your pre-frontal cortex filters and rejects most of the wacko. This is impulse control. ",
"I learned about what is called intrusive thoughts in Psychology. Usually unpleasant, often violent or sexual and can be really weird/hard to deal with. Also interesting stuff, psychology is cool ",
"The brain is made to imagine future scenarios and make sure we pick the right ones. I'm guessing a lot of this happens without us noticing, and the brain only brings it to our attention if one of the scenarios is dangerous or bad. \n\n\"We're at the store? Maybe we should buy bananas... check, everything OK\"\n\n\"Maybe we should walk towards the banana aisle... sounds good, let's just do it, no need to ask Brain Owner\"\n\n\"Maybe we should put a banana in our eye... hey, that would probably damage something. Let's tell Brain Owner not do do that! HEY BRAIN OWNER BANANA IN EYE IS BAD\""
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
48rbqs | why does music always sound the best the first time? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/48rbqs/eli5why_does_music_always_sound_the_best_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"d0luvnu"
],
"score": [
20
],
"text": [
"That's funny. I almost never like a song the first time I hear it. It takes two or more repetitions before I start to enjoy a new piece of music. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
wdz08 | the american university system | I'm a British undergraduate student, and I'm considering applying for a Masters degree at an American university. I know the topic is a little broad, but could some kind soul explain the basics to me? I've attempted my own research, but American university websites are labyrinthine, and endlessly confusing.
More specifically: How are universities organised- what is the difference between a college, a department, and a school? What is the GPA system, and how does it work? How and why can one obtain a bursary from the university? What is the Ivy League, and does one really need to be exceptionally rich to get in? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wdz08/eli5_the_american_university_system/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5chs52",
"c5cnkxi"
],
"score": [
24,
3
],
"text": [
"Hey, I'm a masters student for Comp Sci in New York so I might have a little insight.\n\nFirst off, Universities are organized like this:\n\n* Universities are composed of\n* Colleges are composed of\n* Departments\n\nFor a masters program, you will be applying to a specific department. Once you get in/are there, you may have the opportunity to switch departments should you dislike the one you are in. In terms of GPA, many schools use a 4 point system. Some use a 5 point system. Some schools assign no +/- to their grades (91 is an A as well as 99 at my school).\n\nI assume that bursary is help with tuition. Generally, schools will try to attract students with merit based scholarships automatically. Certain schools will have other scholarships that you may apply for. These can be hard to find sometimes, but they are worth it if you qualify. I'm not sure, but as a foreign national coming to the US, you may qualify for the Fulbright.\n\nIvy Leagues are just a set of schools that are particularly prestigious. Technically, they are part of the same athletic conference, and this is where the name originates. However, the term \"ivy leaugue\" now stands as a sort of upper level, high class school. Many schools that are not in the Ivy Leaugue are just as good, potentially even better in certain areas. Generally, the expense may be a littler higher, but education in general is just very expensive.\n\nLastly, in terms of what a masters program is like, I can't really tell you. Each one is a completely different beast to deal with. You will take about a dozen classes or so and complete either a thesis or project during your stay there. Completion time I would say is just under 2 years.",
"The Ivy League is a historically prestigious collection of 8 universities in the Northeastern US. You do not have to be rich to get in, but in most cases you have to be exceptional academically. Basically, they are the American counterparts to Oxford and Cambridge."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
4qts9h | what are the differences between kinds of businesses like llc, llp, and incorporated? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4qts9h/eli5what_are_the_differences_between_kinds_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4vt9i3",
"d4vtaey",
"d4w7d8c",
"d4w9xs7"
],
"score": [
57,
4,
3,
6
],
"text": [
"A solo proprietorship means the owner owns 100% and receives all profit but is also liable for all debts, including having to pay from his/her personal property of debts accumulate beyond what the business can pay.\n\nA partnership is the same thing except profit and expenses are split between owners and they can all be held liable for debts, including beyond their own normal expenses - so if your partner racks up $100k in debt, the other partner may have to pay for it with their personal property.\n\nLimited liability partnerships and corporations serve the same function but are designed so that the owner's personal property cannot be taken to pay off business debt. There are ownership and size restrictions for it to be considered limited liability, though.\n\nA corporation fully protects its owners from being personally liable for the business' debt, it also provides some other protections because it is considered to be a unique unit. the cost however is that corporations are taxed on their income before any distributions to owners (which are then taxed as well) so it is a form of double taxation on income earned.",
"Without going into a lot of detail, the primary differences have to do with how taxes, ownership and liability are handled. Because different organizations want to handle those things differently, different business structures are available to them.",
"It's a little hard to explain LLC, since it varies from state to state. But the main advantage to LLC is that you get limited liability, so the bank won't take your house if your business tanked, and still only get taxed once, instead of twice (C-Corp).",
"A copy and paste from an answer that I posted on another post related to limited liability companies as well.\n\nI am a lawyer who has a practice that at times involves the formation and governance of these entities.\n\nThis discussion refers only to US based entities.\n\nOriginally, the two basic business organization structures were a partnership and a corporation. I have to explain those entities before talking about LLCs.\n\nA partnership is simply a collection of two or more people who elect to conduct business together. Typically, there is no need to file anything with an state entity to create a partnership just an agreement between 2 or more people to be partners, with the agreement being either verbal or in writing. There can be a written partnership that governs the rights and obligations of each of the partners, but typically there is not.\n\nA corporation is a fictitious entity that is created by filing paperwork with the Secretary of State in the state where you want to incorporate. The owners of the corporation receive stock, and they elect the Board of Directors of the corporation who then select the officers of the company like president, vice president and secretary. The officers of the corporation and the members of the Board of Directors are typically the same people for small corporations. The governance of the corporation is pursuant to the Bylaws, which is essentially an agreement between the shareholders that sets forth matters related to the election of the Board of Directors, the officers' duties, annual meetings, and special meeting and other similar things.\n\nPartnership income is not taxed at the partnership level. In other words, the income or losses of the partnership are divided among the partners who then just report the income or loss on their individual tax returns.\n\nOriginally, corporate income was subject to double taxation. First, the corporation paid taxes on its income with its federal and state returns. Second, once that income was distributed to the shareholders in the form of dividends based upon their stock ownership, the shareholders would report much of the same income on their personal returns, and pay taxes upon that income again.\n\nThe IRS ultimately created something known as an \"S Corporation\" which the organizers of a small corporation (less than 100 shareholders who are US citizens) can file an election for with the IRS. This gets rid of the double taxation issue because an S Corporation is taxed just like a partnership, with the income and losses just passing through to the shareholders.\n\nThe key difference between a partnership and a corporation, regardless of whether or not it is an S Corporation) is liability protection.\n\nPartners are personally liable for the acts and omissions of all of the other partners, while shareholders are protected from any liability. Here's an example:\n\nSuppose Adam and Bob are partners in a roofing company, with each having a company truck, and that Bob is driving drunk in the company truck on his way to a job and runs over and kills a child. Adam will also personally be financially responsible for that loss as Bob's partner in connection with any later lawsuit.\n\nNow change the facts to provide that they have incorporated the business and Adam and Bob are now shareholders of the company. Bob is still responsible for the accident because he was the driver; the corporation is also financially responsible for the accident because it was a company truck on its way to a job; but Adam has no personal financial liability at all.\n\nNow the LLC part.\n\nThat stands for limited liability company. It essentially merges the tax benefits of a partnership with the liability protection of a corporation.\n\nIn many respects, it is almost identical to an S Corporation as far as benefits. Many people prefer to utilize the LLC structure though because there have historically been less annual red tape and taxes imposed by the states with respect to an LLC compared to an S Corporation.\n\nSome of the terminology is different, too:\n\nThe owners of an LLC are called Members.\n\nThey receive Units of the LLC rather than stock like with a corporation.\n\nThey are managed by a Manager who is designated in the Operating Agreement, which is somewhat like corporate Bylaws.\n\nThe Operating Agreement also contains numerous other terms related to the rights and obligations of the Members with respect to the LLC.\n\nAn LLP shares many of the same attributes as a LLC. Rather than Members you have partners. However, most of the partners are not liable for the acts or omissions of the other partners. Generally, there is one managing partner who is the only entity that has that type of liability. I don't run into LLPs very often in my practice. My experience has been thT there use seems to be limited to law firms and maybe real estate investment companies. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
wnfmh | during embryo growth, how do cells physically "arrange themselves" into complex structures like organs, appendages, etc? | So I get how cells can specialize in terms of what proteins they can produce, whether they are a skin cell or a blood cell, etc.. But I can't get my head around how they can specialize into forming shapes like, say, a nose or an ear; and how something which starts as a single cell can divide into a shape that is anything but an amorphous blob. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wnfmh/eli5_during_embryo_growth_how_do_cells_physically/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5eu8k8",
"c5eudut",
"c5ewfti",
"c5f21p6"
],
"score": [
7,
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I'm a bit rusty on my developmental biology, but the basics is that cell division is not symetrical, and at each division in the early stages, some material goes with one of the cell, and the rest with the other.\n\nThis translates into different protein being produced by the cells, or at least different concentration of said protein (For exemples of protein, look up Wnt or Notch). This creates a gradient of proteins in the organism being formed, and because the cell reacts differently depending on the concentration of these proteins, they will develop into something different. \n\nThere are also pathways in development that are linked to the status of the neighbouring cells. Say, if i'm a developing cell, and the cell beside me is a pre-nose cell, i'm going to develop into a pre-nose cell too.\n\nHowever, there are very very complex interactions going on, and the simulation of everything at once is not yet feasible, and we rely on models, which do not account for everything yet, but better models will come !",
"An interesting thing that happens in embryos is that at different parts of the cells are difference concentrations of certain molecules. These molecules can inhibit or stimulate certain growth. When a single cell has the \"magic concentration\" of these molecules, they will do different things. This is what differentiates head from tail, as well as leads to the growth of epithelial (skin), mesothelial (kind of an in between), and endothelial (inner cells like organs). after the growth of these three types, they differentiate further based on these levels of concentrations of molecules. \n\nThere are oodles of this tapering of molecular concentrations in cells and structures, so it's not a single molecule that differentiates. ",
"There's also a lot of \"programmed cell death\" where cells die to form structures. For example fingers are formed when the cells between them die off.",
"The term you're looking for is called organogenesis. We are made up of 3 germinal layers: endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm; which then will differentiate into different parts of the body. What drives the cell differentiation? It's a complex interplay between gene regulation and growth factors.\n\nHere's a wiki to help get you started:\n_URL_0_\n\nAlso, there's tons of educational videos out there that drive these points home.\n\nGood luck!\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_differentiation"
]
] | |
bd7fzx | what does a quark's spin have to do with it's properties? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bd7fzx/eli5_what_does_a_quarks_spin_have_to_do_with_its/ | {
"a_id": [
"ekwa3sd"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Probably the most notable property that quarks have due to their spin is that two quarks can't ever be in the same state at the same time. This is because quarks have spin 1/2, and any particle with spin 1/2 has that property. The property is called \"being a fermion\"."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
8w00ku | how should i think about multiplying different units? | This is how I think about basic multiplication. When I have 3x5 it could mean that I have THREE SETS of FIVE APPLES and that is 15 (apples total). But when I have for example N x m and I get a Joule? Or Pressure times Volume (PV)? What does it mean multiplying pressure by volume?
Is Newton (or pressure) here something like a set? But how? Can someone explain please? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8w00ku/eli5_how_should_i_think_about_multiplying/ | {
"a_id": [
"e1rp8dd",
"e1rqlzf",
"e1rqmfb",
"e1s6va1"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It’s kind of abstract, but knowing what the units represent helps when you use them. Think about velocity, for example. The formula says that V=d/t, you know that the more distance you travel in the same time, makind the d greater while t remains the same, the velocity becomes greater. Same for pressure, P=F/A, which means that the force you apply to a certain area makes pressure. The end of a needle is very sharp, which means it has a very little area, thus the pressure with a little force is very big. \n\nAs for Newtons, it means that the greater the mass and the acceleration an object has, the greater the force it has. ",
"You have 3 [Sets] of [Apples] and you want to figure out how many apples you have. Now to figure that you you need to know the amount of [Apples per Set] or [Apples/Set]. Because [Set] * [Apples]/[Set] = [Apples]. So Units basically allow oyu to see right away what they are used for. It's only slightly more complicated with Preassure times Volume, because you probably don't know the SI Units of Preassure. Just Like you'd end up with the [SET APPLES] if you didn't know that 5 [Apples] isn't the same as 5 [Apples per Set] and if you don't know that [Apples per Set] is the same as [Apples]/[Set] and some people call the special set of apples that contains 6 [Apples per Set] a [Box of apples]. You'll end up with a Problem, you know you have a box of apples and you know you have three sets but that strange result of 3 [Sets Box of Apples] just isn't helpful. But if you remember Box of Apples - > 6 Apples/Set you suddenly now that you've got 18 [Apples]. \n\n\nthe same Problem as you have with P * V. You clearly have [Pascal] * [Meters Cubed] so the result is clearly [Pascal Meters Cubed] which isn't wrong, just not helpful. \n\n\nBut if you know that Pascal = N/( m * s^2 ) and is just called Pascal and the Volume is m^3 you'll have an easy time to figure out that Pascal Meters Cubed is actually the same as N * m^2 / s^2, which is sometimes called Joule and Joule is the Unit for work. \n\n\nSo basically for all the Units to make sense you need to know all about those Units or they'll just be useless mambo jambo to you. ",
"The interesting thing is that the units multiply and divide as well. Take your example of N×m giving Joules. N and J are just convenient shorthand that scientists use. But they actually represent other units. \n \nVelocity is distance/time = m/s \n \nAcceleration is (v^(final) - v^(initial)) / time = (m/s - m/s) / s = m/s × 1/s = m/s^2 \n \nForce = mass × acceleration = kg × m/s^2 = kg•m/s^2 This is what we call a Newton \n \nWork = Force × Distance = kg•m/s^2 × m = kg•m^(2)/s^2 This is what we call a Joule. \n \nIf you do the math for the base units of pressure and volume, you get the same base units as well.\n\n \n",
"The Joule is energy and has many definitions because there are many forms of energy. The Newton is force, but applying 1N to an object tells nothing about energy used. If the object does not move, no energy is expended. If you move something 1 meter while applying 1 N, you have expended 1 Joule. If you do it smoothly in 10 seconds, you used an average power of 0.1 Watt. The general field of combining different types of measurements is [dimensional analysis] (_URL_0_)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimensional_analysis"
]
] | |
3r36om | why there are different album releases (ex. japanese release, us, uk...) | What's the difference? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3r36om/eli5why_there_are_different_album_releases_ex/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwktjsl"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Before massive globalization, music tastes were often quite regional.\n\n\nEven bands with massive crossover appeal, like the Beatles, were subject to record executives in other countries changing which songs would be released as singles and which would appear on albums.\n\n\nIn fact it wouldn't be until their 8th studio album, Sgt Pepper, that the Beatles albums would be the same in all markets.\n\n\nIt is pretty shocking, but again, it involves money, and record execs think they know their local audience better than the execs in the country of origin."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
32qwf5 | why do people splash their faces with water in the morning? | The question may seem simple. But from a biological perspective, oil contains hydrophobic properties. Therefore, you would be barely getting rid of built-up oil on your face. So why do people do it if actual face cleansers exist. An example is how you use shampoo to wash your hair of excess oils, instead of just water. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32qwf5/eli5_why_do_people_splash_their_faces_with_water/ | {
"a_id": [
"cqdrhib",
"cqdrmup",
"cqdro5n"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
6
],
"text": [
"The cold water helps wake you up. Just like jumping into a cold pool or river suddenly gives an alert & awake feeling.",
"They are not trying to washing their face squeaky clean, they feel more awake and refreshed. ",
"The same reason I dip my balls in warm coffee...it feels great"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
2f8xi5 | why are some masses of land (e.g. scotland, the bahamas) broken up into many small islands, whilst some (e.g. southern england) are not? | Before you say, yes I am aware of the existence of the Isle of Wight, but other than that the coastline dahn sahf is quite unbroken | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f8xi5/eli5_why_are_some_masses_of_land_eg_scotland_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck6zgv3"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"A lot of the land formations in Europe were caused by glaciers. Over the eons the glaciers will shaped the land to what you see now. Some of the land, comprised of harder rock, would have formed hills and mountains. Fast forward several million years, the glaciers have melted and formed the oceans. The islands you see are actually the old hills and mountains but covered with water. Also worth mentioning that England used to be joined to France by a land bridge. The sea in the channel is a lot shallower than the rest of the ocean."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
9ufdas | does "every action has an equal and opposite reaction" apply in space? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9ufdas/eli5_does_every_action_has_an_equal_and_opposite/ | {
"a_id": [
"e93s7e8",
"e93ut5z",
"e93v8j3",
"e93xfqb"
],
"score": [
10,
5,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Yes.\n\nIf you were floating in space, and you throw a 1kg object, you'd be pushed with the force of 1kg in the opposite direction.",
"everyone else seems to be doing a good job of explaining why yes.\n\njust also saying this is how rockets work in space. the entire space program is based off this.",
"This is how rockets work. They push propellant in one direction, which in turn pushes them in the opposite direction.",
"The best way to understand it is to throw a ball or other weight, while resting on something that rolls freely. Like a skateboard or roller skates or a chair with wheels on a low friction surface or just on ice.\n\nThe momentum of the weight leaving your hand has to be counteracted by the momentum of your body going in the opposite direction. We normally don't notice it, because our feet are planted in the ground, and we are able to get a force from the ground through friction that prevents the counterbalancing momentum, and we don't notice that force. If you are on something that reduces that friction, you'll notice it.\n\nAll a Spaceship or rocket does is essentially throw stuff out the back so it can go forwards."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
3uvqtl | what is a paradigm and a paradigm shift? | examples would be appreciated. Especially examples about Higher Education | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3uvqtl/eli5_what_is_a_paradigm_and_a_paradigm_shift/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxi4pzy",
"cxi5vws"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The term \"paradigm shift\" was coined by thomas kuhn in \"the philosophy of science\". He argued that scientific knowledge was not an continual accumulation of knowledge that progressed up some steady incline, or even a logarithmic one, but that we built models of understanding and beat them until they fell apart and were wholesale replaced - that wholesale replacement is a \"paradigm shift\". The \"paradigm\" is the sum total of the \"current thought\", within some bounds (e.g. the current paradigm of watercolor interpretation). In physics we see in that newtonian physics didn't slowly build its way towards relatively - it had to fail and get replaced. It's especially striking example because they are both useful and complete, but incompatible.\n\nIn higher education, we can contrast the paradigm of repetition and wrote memorization with that of creativity and problem solving. We didn't improve our memorization methods and arrive at creativity...we had a paradigm shift.",
"One of the best examples explained to me in college was this. We are looking for life forms in space. They talk about the \"Goldilocks Zone\" where a planet is neither too close to nor too far from its sun. That's where they look. The paradigm is that in order for life to exist it would have to be under these conditions, because life as we know it requires it. Now suppose life were to be discovered on a planet not within the perfect zone. The result would be a paradigm shift, i.e. we would no longer maintain that a planet has to be in this perfect zone to sustain some form of life."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
3pmk4w | why do those anti-tobacco companies like _url_0_ get such a bad rep every time a conversation about smoking happens? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pmk4w/eli5_why_do_those_antitobacco_companies_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw7j0dd"
],
"score": [
13
],
"text": [
"They are a special interest group that is not above misrepresenting the truth, or using \"scare tactics\" to achieve their objective. So when you talk to smokers about it... they are not going to think highly of them.\n\nThat being said... they are sort of fighting a \"morally right\" fight... so it's tough to do to much to them."
]
} | [
"thetruth.com"
] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
fp3m58 | how far down do our fingernails and toenails go? where/how do they start? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fp3m58/eli5_how_far_down_do_our_fingernails_and_toenails/ | {
"a_id": [
"flivxhp"
],
"score": [
21
],
"text": [
"The nerves right behind your cuticles tell your nail to gro outwards. \n\nYour nail stops about a half inch further than your cuticles."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
5vwe8s | if our telescopes are powerful enough to find new planets 40 light years away, why can't they see if there is life on them? | Cant the telescopes be able to zoom on to the ground on the planets an see what is moving on them?
ps I think this is a physics question but not sure. an astro-physics question | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5vwe8s/eli5_if_our_telescopes_are_powerful_enough_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"de5ezww",
"de5fdxu"
],
"score": [
37,
5
],
"text": [
"These telescopes can't actually see the planets, they can only detect the slight dimming of the stars as planets pass in front of them. It's a pretty impressive feat but it's not enough to tell us what they actually look like (beyond basic info about size etc).",
"These satellites look like little more than dots. Most of out data comes from spectrum analysis and watching them cross in front of their star. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
758tfk | what is an initial coin offering (ico)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/758tfk/eli5_what_is_an_initial_coin_offering_ico/ | {
"a_id": [
"do4a4kp"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"A company or promoter offers investors issues of virtual currency, which is more of a commodity with inherent value (backed by the firm's tech or capital) rather than cash, as a means of raising additional capital for expansion. As (hopefully) additional users employ the digital currency or invest in the blockchain tech it runs on, the value of the coins increase and the firm has cash to operate and expand. Normally initial public offerings of stock in exchange for capital are regulated by states; ICOs are riskier as there exist few if any laws or guidelines for their practices. They're risky like penny stocks but without the protections from the SEC or CFTC... but also without the investment's accounting and oversight of profits (and losses) from the IRS."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
4hk5wi | are muslims actually less likely to integrate in to a new culture, and if so, is there a reason why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4hk5wi/eli5_are_muslims_actually_less_likely_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2q916p",
"d2q9bic",
"d2qaeo2",
"d2qfk0k"
],
"score": [
66,
25,
3,
12
],
"text": [
"People seem to expect immigrants to lose sight of their whole cultural background in a matter of years.\n\nIt takes generations of children growing up in their new society. \n\nAlso Muslims is a huge broad group. Muslims from more secular and Western countries will integrate far better than ones in say, Afghanistan.",
"No. Muslims who have not \"integrated\" stand out visually and are the topic of much controversy right now so receive a lot of attention. However, consider:\n\n1. is a jew who celebrates sabbath and manages food according to kosher principles \"not integrating\"?\n\n2. In my city there are tens of thousands of 2nd and 3rd and 4th generation chinese who do not speak english and live in communities that are very unlike my own. One of us has not integrated into the other!\n\n3. I grew up in irish catholic suburb of boston. Was I not integrating by being the atheist kid, eating meat on friday and playing in the streets on Sunday mornings? \n\nPlenty of people hold on to heritage, live in ghettos of their culture of origin. They don't often come under as much scrutiny as muslims do. Further - and perhaps more importantly - if you have some semblance of recognizable muslim attributes then you're likely going to experience hostility in many parts of the west these days which may play a part in retreating to safe places.\n",
"There is a lot of animosity between various Arab countries and the West. All countries can expect to have some level of animosity towards one another, but the creation of Israel and subsequent events lead to a strange situation where some Muslims were very very angry and most Westerners were very very confused about why Muslims were angry. This lead to terrorism, wars, and an outgrowth of nationalistic Islamiphobia in the United States and Europe.\n\nThis drives stories about Muslims failing to integrate into new countries. \"Integration\" itself is a dog-whistle. Nobody is going to freak out if a bunch of Amish people, or Native Americans \"fail to integrate.\" If Americans had a reason to hate and fear Amish people, they'd fall about themselves with stories of the isolationism of those people, and their crime and poverty rates, as well as explosive population growth.\n\nIt's all very irrational, but this is a subject that divides the rational and irrational people within a population. Yesterday the people \"failing to integrate\" were the dreaded Irish Catholics, and Jews, and the secrecy of \"Free Masons\" was considered a problem of national concern. It's always the same. It's always a dumb emotional response of the insecure and angry. ",
"I know lots of Muslims who have integrated just fine. The catch is, you'd never know most of them are even Muslim. Just like you meet some Christians whom you'd never know are Christians.\n\nI think people forget that some Christians try to adapt society to their beliefs, even if you're not a Christian. I haven't seen any Muslims (in America, anyway) do anything similar. I've met a few women who wouldn't date a non-Muslim, but really, who can fault them for that?\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
1opkzc | the canada - eu free trade agreement | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1opkzc/eli5_the_canada_eu_free_trade_agreement/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccuc1ib",
"ccuc49p"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"**OKAY, I WILL TRY TO EXPLAIN** \n\nCanada gives heavy subsidies to farming and The European Union gives heavy subsidies to farming.\n\nThey trade products. Canada sends mapple Syrup for instance. The Spanish send Tortilla and the French some wine for example.\n\nCanadian Products when they arrive in Europe are taxed heavily in the European Union so they can not compete with European products. They are also norms, Canadian meat for instance is like American Meat, there is an intensive use of growth hormones injected into animals. It is sometimes banned so europeans say \"we don't want all your shit, look at our health regulations). \n\nEuropean Products are taxed heavily in Canada. For instance, if you want to buy quality french cheese (delicious) instead of Quebec cheese (I don't know how it tastes to be true), the French cheese is going to be way more expensive. If you to a store in Montreal, the price of French cheese is just insane. Because Canada doesn't want it to be cheap, Canada wants Canadians to buy Canadian cheese.\n\nA \"secret\" deal was negotiated out of the public eyes and with no debate between top diplomats and top lobbyists.\n\nOfficially Canada and countries of the European Union are supposed to \"compete\" in a \"free market\" to bring the \"best products\" for \"the lowest prices\" and \"creates jobs\" and \"growth\". And everybody is happy. \n\n* In reality, that means that :\n\nEuropeans will allow Canadian products more easily. For instance if you are an ALBERTA (Canadian province) meat producer, this is going to be good for you. You will be allowed to export your products more easily.\n\nCanadians will cut taxes on European products such as cheese, so for instance if you are a French cheese producer, you will be very happy because Canadian cheese producers are going to have less sales.\n\nIn all \"free trade agreement\", somebody, tends to be fucked. Here it's likely to be Canadian cheese producers and european meat producers for instance.\n\nBut \"signing\" a free trade agreement does not create it immediatly. There is another issue. Norms. Regulations. \n\nThe quality regulations in Europe are different than the quality regulations in North-America. There are things North-americans do with their food that Europeans consider disgusting (growth hormones injected in almost all american/canadia beef, corn syrup) , so there are things banned in Europe. \n\nWith this free trade agreement , there must be a unification of standards and norms. \n\nThe industries top lobbyists that are hired in Ottawa [(1)](_URL_0_)and Brussels [(2)](_URL_3_) try to lower all regulations, so they want to base the regulations on the country with the LEAST regulations.\n\n For instance on meat, they are going to look \"in which place is meat the less regulated ? Canada ? Europeans should accept hormones then ! \"\n\n\"in which country are industrial parts less regulated ? The European Union ? Canadians should adopt the European Union policy, and lower their regulations !\" \n\nAnother important effect is that the working people will not be able to organize and ask for better working conditions/wages as effectively as before, just like with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) , because there will always be someone else they MUST have to compete with. It will break them. \n[(3)](_URL_1_) [(4)](_URL_4_) [(5)](_URL_2_)\n\n* Nobody knows how its going to turn out exactly, but this is what most independant experts agree on.",
"We don't have details yet, but from what I have read this morning in Le Devoir (Quebec independent newspaper), it seems that it is but a \"entente de principe\", which means an agreement on principle.\n\nThe major points, at least until now, concern beef and dairy. It seems that canadian beef will be given a lot of market space in Europe, while european dairy products (especially fine cheese) will be given market space in Canada.\n\nNow, this has pissed off a lot of French independent meat producers (which are often small farms), and has pissed off little canadian (especially Quebecer) dairy producers.\n\nSo it would seem that it is the bigger companies that will profit, as always, while the little ones will get crushed.\n\nLastly, from a Quebec perspective, there are going to be relatively interesting developments, as we normally have huge import taxes for dairy products, in order to protect small local dairy producers. For example, Haagen Dazs ice cream is hugely expensive here, not because it's quality ice cream (it's still pretty good), but because there is a huge import tax on it, in order to protect local ice creams like Coaticook, which end up being cheaper. Now, normally, free trade means no import taxes, so this may end up having huge repercussions on long-term price fluctuation.\n\nAgain, we have very little details for now, so please take all of this with a grain of salt. (Besides, salt, in moderate quantities, is good for you.)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://prospectusassociates.com/",
"http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Noam_Chomsky_Free_Trade.htm",
"http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jul/08/usforeignpolicy.colombia",
"http://www.bgrdc.com/bgr_gabara.html",
"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/us/twenty-years-later-nafta-remains-a-... | ||
620k88 | levels of clearance and security classification. who has access to stuff? how is that stuff 'labeled' to know who can have access? | There are so many different members of our government currently involved in the Russia investigations. It's confusing to keep up with and really hard to make sense of who actually knows things versus who might have heard some things. I'd love to get an education in the whole security clearance process, but some specific questions to start the ball rolling...
- Would the entire Russian investigation be classified at the same level or are certain portions (i.e. one conversation between party A and party B) classified differently?
- What clearance do members of the House Intelligence Committee have? Do all members have the same level?
- Who, if anyone, has unrestricted access to all classified information? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/620k88/eli5_levels_of_clearance_and_security/ | {
"a_id": [
"dfir3ux",
"dfjssuv"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"**General Primer on Clearance and Classification:**\n\nIt works simply. You *classify* information according to some methodology. You then assign *clearances* to people which defines (according to your methodology) which levels of classification they theoretically have access to.\n\nI say \"theoretically\" because the other component to this is *need to know.* Just because you have a clearance equal to or greater than some level of classification doesn't grant you automatic access to that classification. You also must have a legitimate need to know that classified information.\n\n > Would the entire Russian investigation be classified at the same level or are certain portions (i.e. one conversation between party A and party B) classified differently?\n\nThere is no one-size-fits-all rule. When you have pieces of information classified differently and you're dealing with them altogether, then the whole package would be classified at the highest level of the pieces of information that make it up (though this doesn't change the classification of those pieces of information).\n\n > Who, if anyone, has unrestricted access to all classified information?\n\nTheoretically, the President. At least with respect to the executive branch. He is the ultimate source/authority (by position) when it comes to such classifications, so he likely has the authority to request any piece of information he wants and then grant himself whatever authority he needs to access it.\n\nI say executive branch because that's the branch he is in charge of and usually what we're talking about when it comes to classification of information. Hypothetically, Congress could invent their own classification scheme and the President would have no inherent rights to access it.",
"To answer your second question: Members of Congress neither receive nor require security clearances of any level. They are not exempt from need-to-know requirements, but that is the only limit on their access to classified information."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
6tz397 | proto indo european religion | I've heard quite a lot about the Proto Indo European religion, but most of what I've read is really hard for me to understand and flies right over my head. Can someone elaborate upon what sort of gods the Proto Indo Europeans worshipped, what were some of the motifs in the stories that they told and how they believed the world came into existence | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6tz397/eli5proto_indo_european_religion/ | {
"a_id": [
"dlozv86"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"We don't really know: it's all just guesswork. And we don't know any of the details.\n\nA lot of what we think we know about it is derived from what we've been able to guess about their language -- and I really do mean \"guess\". Linguists think they've done a pretty good job of reconstructing the ancient Proto-Indo-European language, but there's no way of checking because there are no written records of it. We don't even know what it was called.\n\nThe theory goes something like this: linguists have noticed lots of similarities between most of the languages now spoken in Europe and northern India. By looking at how languages change and evolve over time, linguists have tracked these changes backwards in time and concluded that all these languages descended from one language that was spoken something like 6,000 or 8,000 years ago, somewhere on the border between Europe and Asia. This language has been named \"Proto-Indo-European\", or \"PIE\" for short, and the languages descended from it are called \"Indo-European languages\".\n\nFrom this, linguists have made a few deductions. For example, in many religions, the chief god -- Jupiter, Zeus, etc. -- has a name that can be shown to have derived from a name meaning \"sky-father\". The PIE name was probably \\*Dyeus Phater (the asterisk means \"we have no direct evidence of this, it's just our best guess), and you can clearly see the connection with \"Deus\" (Latin for \"god\") and the \"-piter\" in \"Jupiter\".\n\nThe Greek goddes Eos, the Roman goddess Aurora, the Lithuanian goddess Austrine and the Vedic goddess Usas are also all very similar, both in terms of who they are and in linguistic terms, so this allows us to guess that the PIE speakers worshipped a goddess of the dawn called \\*Haeusos. This might even give us the Germanic goddess of the spring and fertility Eostre, the root of our modern Easter.\n\nThe sun and moon were probably also worshipped as gods -- that would be a very natural thing to do. Similarities for the names of these gods in many languages gives us \\*Sehul for the sun-god and \\*Mehnot for the moon-god.\n\nThe mother of Thor, Fjorgyn, the Lithuanian god Perkunas and the Slavic god Perunu lead us to reconstruct \\*Perkwunos, the PIE god of storms (if you're wondering about Fjorgyn, the letters P and F are linguistically very closely related).\n\nIn many Indo-European cultures there is a pair of gods who are brothers, and they often have names that may come from the PIE root for \"horse\", \\*ekwa- (as in \"equine\"). This leads us to suggest the existence of the \"horse twins\", although we can't reconstruct their original names.\n\nThere are others, but you get the general idea: looking at names of gods in different Indo-European languages, we can make educated guesses as to the PIE religion.\n\nAs for the stories, those are guessed at by a similar process, this time looking at the stories that are told in various Indo-European religions. For example:\n\n* a hero or a god slaying a dragon or serpent\n* a hero or a god releasing the sun from imprisonment within a rock\n* something being founded or created by twins, perhaps raised by an animal (e.g. Romulus and Remus)\n* a fire in the waters\n* the underworld as the realm of the dead\n* an important tree guarded or attacked by a dragon or serpent (think Garden of Eden)\n\nThese are all just guesses, you understand: we have no real idea whether any of this is accurate. And scholars debate and argue over this all the time: part of the problem you're having trying to get your head around this may be that there are so many different theories.\n\nBut there has been one attempt to reconstruct the PIE creation myth, and it goes like this:\n\nThe twins Manu and Yemo, accompanied by a cow, decide to create the world. To do this, a sacrifice is made (either Manu sacrifices Yemo, or both sacrifice the cow). The sky-father then helps Manu use the remains to create the world, and so Manu becomes the first priest. Another man, called Trito, is given a herd of cattle. He loses it to a three-headed serpent called Ngwhi, but kills the serpent and gets his herd back: he becomes the first warrior.\n\nAs you can see, the myth is incomplete and vague. And it is, really, just guesswork. We could easily be very wide of the mark: without a time machine, we're never going to find out."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
6ze3t3 | what's the difference between 'space' and the 'void' outside the known universe? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ze3t3/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_space_and_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"dmukp48",
"dmukthr"
],
"score": [
11,
7
],
"text": [
"[The observable universe is just a horizon created by the finite age of the universe](_URL_0_). There's no indication that the universe changes significantly at the boundary (becomes the 'void' you're asking about), since we keep getting new observations from out there as time goes on. Most likely the universe goes on infinitely. ",
"So space has \"nothing\" in it. Obviously, there are stars, planets, nebulae etc. For the most part, however, it's empty. This is pretty easy to understand. And were sure this goes on for about 46.5 ×10^(9) light years in all direction. But how big the actual universe is, we don't know. It's possible that it's infinite, in which case it's easy to understand that there is no 'outside'.\n\nBut it's also possible that it's finite. In which case it's harder to grasp. But it's similar to the very weird concept of time starting with the Big Bang. There is no \"before\" the Big Bang, just like there is no \"outside\" the universe. Or a \"less motionless\" than motionless."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NU2t5zlxQQ"
],
[]
] | ||
c7rpnh | what is happening in our brain when we are reciting stuff? | For example I work in telesales and I have to recite long terms and conditions every call which I can do with no concentration. Often I'm doing sudoku or browsing the news etc whilst reading these and I don't mess them up (that I know of). I'm curious as to how I can go on auto pilot for this. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c7rpnh/eli5_what_is_happening_in_our_brain_when_we_are/ | {
"a_id": [
"esh5wwf"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Your brain does this with all things you have to do a lot. It assigns the task to your subconsciousness to free up \"ressources\" maybe needed for another task."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
28xzll | i want to start eating healthy. what do i start eating, and what do i watch out for on labels at the market? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28xzll/eli5_i_want_to_start_eating_healthy_what_do_i/ | {
"a_id": [
"cifjs3f",
"cifk86v",
"cifms3f",
"cifmx0b"
],
"score": [
18,
2,
3,
5
],
"text": [
"If you have time to read, I'd highly suggest The Omnivore's Dilemma. Polan suggests that you throw out most perceived rules about dieting (no fats, eat omega 3s, x servings, etc). Humans can eat a variety of diets - just not the Western diet. Basically\n\n1) Eat Food\n2) Mostly Plants\n3) Not too much.\n\n1 - When you go food shopping, ask yourself \"Are the ingredients for this thing food?\" Don't buy margarine, buy butter. Don't buy something with high fructose corn syrup, buy stuff with sugar. Avoid processed food and stuff that's heavy in preservatives. Go for stuff that has a relatively small number of ingredients. Eat a diverse diet.\n\n2 - A lot can be argued about whether we should go vegetarian, and I won't start that fight here. Regardless, get the majority of your calories from plants.\n\n3 - Don't feel obligated to eat all the food you make. Eat until you feel like you are done, and pack up the rest.",
"One piece of advice i might offer is to use smaller plates. You tend to load less food on a smaller plate. A small plate will look fuller and feel satisfying",
"Water is the key to everything, feel like a chocolate biscuit sure but instead of eating 3 eat half of one, drink a glass of water then eat the other half it will make you feel fuller and you don't get all the sugar and chocolate of 3 biscuits. \n\nCarry a full water bottle around with you everywhere",
"Someone posted a mallard with the caption \"Don't eat until you are full, eat until you aren't hungry anymore.\"\n\nThis is good portion advice. The other advice I would give is to cook from scratch as much as possible. You don't need to study the labels on meals you cooked yourself."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
2fg9j9 | why does dancing look better when done in synchrony? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fg9j9/eli5_why_does_dancing_look_better_when_done_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck8ws7f",
"ck8zifa"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"You may not even realize it, but you're impressed by the amount of skill that goes into multiple people moving in sync.\n\nWhich is also why you can typically notice when that one guy is off beat, and how much it ruins things, even though it might just be a little bit off.\n\nThere's also a 'noise' factor, in that it's 'louder'. Like if you saw a cannon go off with a little \"poof\" and going 'meh' vs a cannon with a loud BOOM and going 'whoa!'",
"Good question, my guess would basically be that uniformity/synchronicity is pleasing. We rarely encounter it in our day to day life. It's the same reason why we like patterns and repetition. And with dancing there is the added bonus that they are each individual people and so it takes a lot of talent an practice to dance in synch. \n\nAs far as why we enjoy that uniformity, that's another debate. For some reason it's just comforting. \n "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
1zj375 | when you freeze something, does it's shelf life remain the same after you defrost it? | For example:
I purchase a loaf of bread. It expires in 7 days. I get home and realize I already have bread so I put the new loaf in the freezer. A month later I take it out and defrost it. Do I still have 7 days until it goes bad?
EDIT: conditions are exactly the same when you take it out of the freezer, as the manufacturer of the product intended.
If bread is a tough one, then use meat. You freeze a pound of ground beef for a month and then take it out and put it in the fridge. Will it still have the same shelf life as when you froze it?
edit: The simple answer is: No, the shelf life is shorter after being defrosted. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zj375/eli5_when_you_freeze_something_does_its_shelf/ | {
"a_id": [
"cfu3in4",
"cfu43yd",
"cfu4q8s",
"cfu6842",
"cfua49c"
],
"score": [
5,
3,
23,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"That depends on exactly what kind of bread it is and how you store it when you defrost it. Food spoils because microorganisms require water to function. When you freeze it, you freeze the water which prevents the microorganisms from moving around, getting food (such as the sugars in the bread) and reproducing.\n\nA lot of people think McDonald's fries and hamburgers don't spoil when left out because of preservatives, but the real reason is that they lose moisture over time which delays microorganism growth.\n\nSo you'd have to look at the environment you're storing the defrosted bread in: does your house have a lot of moisture/humidity? \n\nThe 7 day expiration date is determined by the manufacturer: the manufacturer knows that if the bread is stored in the grocery store aisle it will not mold until the expiration date, because the manufacturer knows the temperature and humidity conditions of the grocery store.",
"The freezer will slow, but not totally stop microbial growth.\n\nAlso thawed out bread tastes gross.",
"The short answer is no, freezing tends to damage foods a little. This damage breaks the food down slightly allowing it to spoil faster. However, you can keep food frozen for a long time, and just take it out when you are ready to use it.\n\nThat being said, I'd still use the thawed-out bread past the 'shelf life' until it started showing signs of mold. Just because the shelf life is a set number of days, doesn't mean it instantly goes bad on that day. If you're not sure though it's better to throw it away.",
"Generally, no. For foods which contain water (which most do), when the water freezes it expands and causes many of the cells or particles in which it is contained to rupture, thus making the food spoil faster when thawed. A ruptured cell is much more easily attacked by microorganisms.",
"i have some chicken that i froze yesterday, and it spoils today. can i unfreeze it tomorrow and still eat it?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
1toif7 | why is clean gold's purity 99.9% | i don't understand why the purity of clean gold/silver is 99.9%.
what is the last 0.1%? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1toif7/why_is_clean_golds_purity_999/ | {
"a_id": [
"ce9xkqg",
"cea2yfa"
],
"score": [
7,
2
],
"text": [
"They can't guarantee that every single molecule in the ingot is gold, so they give themselves leeway by calling it 99.9%. The same thing happens with antibacterials; since they can't be sure that every single bacterium is dead, they'll only say that 99.9% of bacteria are killed.",
"First comment covered it the question in terms of the human reason. In natural earth conditions 100% pure is essentially theoretical for anything. As soon as something is exposed to the atmosphere there are contaminants and new molecular bonds happening. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
871rzd | what does “doing your taxes” involve and how do you get money back from it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/871rzd/eli5_what_does_doing_your_taxes_involve_and_how/ | {
"a_id": [
"dw9ii44",
"dw9ij32",
"dw9ipej",
"dw9ipk1"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"In the UK as a self employed person I have to fill a form in telling the government all my earnings for the year. Then I have to pay the tax bill according to what I have earned. Unfortunately I don’t get money back. ",
"In short you fill out how much you made and put any exemptions/deductions you may have. Like being married, things you can write off, or kids. Usually when you work the money that comes out of each paycheck is a little more than it should be. At the end of the year you get back what you overpaid.",
"Doing your taxes involves filling out forms to calculate how much money you earned from a variety of sources to determine your tax liability, or how much you would owe in taxes.\n\nFrom this number, you subtract what you have already paid this year in taxes to determine if you are getting a refund or if you owe more.\n\nFor example, if your tax liability on your earning is $100, and you have paid $200 this year, you habe overpaid and will get a refund of $100.\n\nIf your tax liability is $100 and you paid $75 this year, you owe an additional $25.\n\nThat's the simplified version. Determining taxable income and tax liabity depends on a lot of factors depending on your situation, and can be greatly augmented by credits or deductions.",
"If you work, your work gives you a T4 that says how much money you made ad how much income taxes you paid on it already\n\nThe tricky part is knowing what things count as tax exempt and having the record of what you spent on those things. IE rummaging up receipts for eye exams, prescription medications, if you bought a house this year, all kinds of things and other items. Then knowing where to enter those things on your tax forms. Knowing more exemptions and having the amount you spent on them can make a big difference.\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
zfmnq | what world rally championship driver's co-pilots are saying and what it means. | _URL_0_
Saw this video and made me want to know what the hell the co-pilot is saying. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zfmnq/eli5_what_world_rally_championship_drivers/ | {
"a_id": [
"c647x5e",
"c647xi7"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"The co-driver reads the road notes to tell the driver what's coming up ahead. Driving that quickly down narrow, winding roads is obscenely dangerous if you don't know what's in front of you before you get there and can think about what you're supposed to do. ",
"The courses are crazy enough that you can't really expect the driver to memorize the whole thing. The co-pilots are basically giving them directions and warnings as they go, staying ahead a few turns so the driver has time to react. What they actually say varies from team to team but it's all basically just easy notation for what's happening. For example, \"3 right, don't cut\" is a lot faster, easier and clearer during a race than saying \"there's a tight right turn ahead, and make sure you don't cut the corner because of some reason.\"\n\nEDIT: [Here's a video](_URL_0_) showing a process for making the notes"
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/zeexr/i_knew_wrc_was_crazy_but_never_thought_it_was/"
] | [
[],
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXJYc4CpXA"
]
] | |
2g0xmh | why do electronics manufacturers use abnormal screws instead of simple philips screws? | For example my MacBook, it has Pentalope screws. This makes opening it a pain since I have to buy a screwdriver to open it but It isnt like they are hard to come by or expensive. And as far as I can tell, the threads on the screws are like any other
Edit: It can't be to stop people repairing it, these screwdrivers are extremely easy to buy. If you wanted to open it just for curiosity, you could do so for < £1 | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2g0xmh/eli5_why_do_electronics_manufacturers_use/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckel6ln"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Come on people.. think about this one.\n\nAutomated assembly means that you have machines working to insert and drive those screws.\n\nBits like triangular or Torx are much better for this as they won't slip and the screw will stay locked into the bit better. This prevents stripped screws and allows better automation on the assembly line. This can also *largely* reduce tool wear. Philips is notorious for slipping easily and causing stripped heads and bits, triangle and Torx are much better at preventing both.\n\nWhy different drivers from different companies? They have each chosen what they think will work best that they can get for the price they want. It depends on what you're putting together and how it goes together what will work best.\n\nEven people that build decks or do drywall will tell you the advantages of different drivers over Philips. It's not about user-serviceability, it's about what works best while costing the least."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
47h0wp | are there actually pressure points that can induce paralysis when jabbed? | Follow up questions: How do you jab them, and why do they induce paralysis? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/47h0wp/eli5_are_there_actually_pressure_points_that_can/ | {
"a_id": [
"d0cvss1",
"d0cxcrt"
],
"score": [
6,
3
],
"text": [
"No, there aren't. Getting hit in a nerve sucks, and it can cause some numbness or temporary relaxation of muscles, but not paralysis in the way it's portrayed in movies.",
"Not a pressure point, but a strong enough/long enough blow to the neck can cause a reduction of blood flow to the head and cause you to blackout.\n\nHitting a specific nerve might cause discomfort (funny bone is hitting a nerve bundle)\n\nThat's all I can think of."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
2aon52 | why do babies and young children add -ey sounds to the end of words (ex: doggy, eggy ducky)? | My son does this and if I say, "Look at that dog!" and then say, "Where is the doggy?" He will always prefer to say doggy. Is it a language development thing? I hate teaching him baby words but he likes to say words with an -ey sound at the end more than a regular word. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2aon52/eli5why_do_babies_and_young_children_add_ey/ | {
"a_id": [
"cix7xuw",
"cix8l9i"
],
"score": [
7,
3
],
"text": [
"I think it's just mimicry of adults talking to them that way.",
"I think it's because that's the way adults talk to them."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
2wd2by | do deaf people understand the concept of different accents? | I was wondering, do people who were born deaf understand that people from around the world have different accents depending upon where they come from? Being someone who is able to hear, I don't know if I can comprehend how a deaf person could realise that people can speak the same language but they pronounce words differently. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wd2by/eli5_do_deaf_people_understand_the_concept_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"copp9aw",
"coppi9c"
],
"score": [
2,
4
],
"text": [
"I've heard deaf communties have some of their own slang signs words so probably to some degree.",
"Yes, they do.\n\nIn fact,there are \"accents\" in a sense in sign language.\n\nASL** (American Sign Language) has standard signs that are used everywhere, however many words have multiple signs that are used in different regions - or even age groups.\n\nDog, for example, is different depending on where you are. I, personally, know 3 signs for the same thing.\nOne is making a motion like snapping your fingers, immediately followed by a quick knee-slap.\nOne is JUST snapping your fingers (or at least a motion similar - very hard to explain through text) \nAnd one being just spelling the word (although most people kind of skip the 'o' and it really just looks like a very quick \"d-g\"\n\n\n\nCoca-Cola is another one. Where I am, most people just spell \"Coke\", (although, again, very quickly and usually omitting the 'o')\n\nThe \"cool/edgy\" way, mostly used by teenagers around here (and also used regularly in other places), looks like mimicking a person shooting a syringe in their arm (kind of a play on \"Coke\" as a drug) - sometimes followed by the sign for \"drink\".\n\n\nAs far as - do Deaf people understand that spoken words are pronounced differently - yes, most understand that this is a concept, although they obviously can not imagine. what that would sound like. \n\n\n\n** This is also the case for other sign languages around the world, but I do not personally know examples as I only speak ASL.\n\nAlso - ASL is actually NOT the sign language spoken in some other English speaking countries. Even though the spoken language is the same, the sign languages are sometimes different. \nASL is actually based on the French sign language."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
98soy4 | how do our brains process the noises we hear and translate them into language instantaneously? | I was listening to a podcast earlier and started staring at my ceiling while laying on my bed. As I was listening, I started thinking how strange it is that all human communication is just sounds. How do our brains interpret these sounds apart from the noise of a lawnmower? Or, for that matter, another human language? How does this happen so quickly? It's as if there isn't even a time lapse in the interpretation of the information. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/98soy4/eli5_how_do_our_brains_process_the_noises_we_hear/ | {
"a_id": [
"e4iiklx"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Basically you have to start with the sound you hear. A sound is simplified a wave moving atoms, molecules and so in a medium, for us humans normally air. This mechanical information now hits your ear. Inside your ear is a mechanism which translates the wave from the air to the inner fluid inside the cochlea. Now there the wave spreads and moves small haircells. These now translate the mechanical information into „electrical“ information, they creat potentials which are from there on transported via axons to your brain. Diffirent sounds are coded by different sequences of potentials created. By those different frequencies of created potentials the brain differs sounds. What each different sound means did you learn during your life. You for example know what a human voice should sound like so when you hear one you say „yeah that‘s a person“. The process of learning itself is some more complex and still a highly observed process, basically your brain forms different junctions in different areas which resemble memories or born knowledge. Therefore a load of different transmitters, receptors and other chemicals and cells are needed. And of course human communication isn‘t just sound, take this script for an example, you just interpret it to a sound although there are just mute signs. And there also is a timelapse between recognition and interpretation but it‘s fairly small."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
69b0wc | is reading actually better for the brain than gaming or watching a movie? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69b0wc/eli5_is_reading_actually_better_for_the_brain/ | {
"a_id": [
"dh57gbr"
],
"score": [
17
],
"text": [
"It depends on what you mean by \"better for the brain\".\n\nThe language centers of your brain are stimulated by reading in ways that they aren't by watching a movie or playing a game. Heavy readers are more likely to have better vocabulary, and tend to be better writers and communicators in general. \n\nEarly, frequent exposure to written language correlates to a higher ability to communicate in writing. People who make a living writing (fiction, non-fiction, writing for TV or movies) usually are also heavy readers from a young age. \n\nThe act of reading involves some mental processes that are absent from games and movies. That isn't to say that games and movies are bad, just that they don't stimulate the same parts of the brain. \n\nBecause so much of the knowledge and education we have as a society is transmitted by the written word, having strong language skills (reading and writing) is a serious advantage to being able to learn quickly and demonstrate learning. That's why parents and educators put such an emphasis on reading for younger people. As adults, less so. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
3tteqt | why does it take a month to lose 10 lbs but it seems easy to gain 10 lbs in a week? | During the holidays for example it seems incredibly easy to gain 10 lbs in a week. And yes I know calories in, etc. But I don't go from eating 2500 calories a day to 9000 a day for a week. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tteqt/eli5_why_does_it_take_a_month_to_lose_10_lbs_but/ | {
"a_id": [
"cx91gjs",
"cx91omv",
"cx97s7y",
"cx9nhyz"
],
"score": [
42,
8,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Say you're 150lb. You're trying to cut down to 130lb, so you exercise and eat healthy, everything you're supposed to. Come holiday time you've lost 5lb and are now 145lb. During the holiday week you indulge a bit, going over your calories frequently, eating dense foods. On Saturday you weigh yourself and you've put on 10lbs! That's insane, right?\n\nIf it happens like that, most of the time it's food weight. That stuff disappears in a few days so it's not \"real weight\" gained. When losing weight, you're losing fat (most of the time anyway), which only happens with the calories in, calories out method. So unless you're heavily restricting it'll take longer to lose weight. When losing weight you have a deficit of maybe 500 calories. During holidays it's very easy to eat 2000+ extra of your favourite foods without realising. Which is why I think it's easier to gain.",
"That's most likely because your measuring method isn't consistent. Did you measure every single morning when you are on empty stomach? You will see that there isn't much difference. \n\nThe 10 lbs gain is most likely because you are weighing when you just ate or drank and didn't poop. Gaining 10 lbs in one week is very unlikely 0,5 kg to 1kg a week gain or lose is more realistic (sorry on phone dunno how much lbs that is). \n\nMany people like to weigh themselves during holiday because they eat a lot and then are shocked about the massive gain. ",
"An aspect I don't see mentioned here is calories needed to maintain current weight vs calories needed to maintain target weight. Let's say it takes 3000 calories to maintain your current weight and you want to lose a few lbs. So you eat right, eat well, and exercise and have a net calorie intake of 2300. You'll rapidly lose weight until your current weight maintenance calorie needs get closer to your new daily intake. The closer you get, the slower you'll lose weight until you stop losing all together and break even.",
"Something I haven't seen addressed in these answers is: water weight. \n\nNot everything you gain is fat. Some of it is bloat from eating saltier foods, carbier foods, or foods that aren't part of your everyday life. Water weight or swelling or bloat or whatever you want to call it is REAL weight, but it's not fat and it disappears more quickly than fat does when you go back to your regular eating and hydration. \n\nI know that on a holiday (American holiday, like, say, Thanksgiving coming up), I can see a 5 or 6 lb rise in the scale the next few days. That's not because I ate 21,000 calories in a single day. That's because I ate foods that were higher in sugar, salt, and carbs than I normally eat and those things cause my body to retain fluids. After a few days of eating my normal, every day diet, and drinking water, that fluid is flushed out, and I'm back at my normal weight. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
4run91 | are there any political differences between quebec and the rest of canada? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4run91/eli5_are_there_any_political_differences_between/ | {
"a_id": [
"d547oq9"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"They have a strong desire to separate from Canada and be independent, although the reasons are mostly cultural (language, history, different commemorative holidays). The fact they are a prosperous province probably doesn't hurt.\n\nFirst Nations peoples in Quebec tend to favour remaining in Canada over separation, and they occupy a very large majority of the province's territory."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
5aanzf | what does "active ingredients" really mean? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5aanzf/eli5_what_does_active_ingredients_really_mean/ | {
"a_id": [
"d9f0guq",
"d9f0h72"
],
"score": [
9,
5
],
"text": [
"It refers to the part of a medicine that does the actual medical work, as opposed to other ingredients that are there for flavor, texture, preservation, stickiness, color, or other non-critical purposes.",
"It means the \"any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used in the manufacture of a drug product and that, when used in the production of a drug, becomes an active ingredient in the drug product. Such substances are intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease or to affect the structure and function of the body\".\n\nInactive ingredients include things like fillers - e.g. the stuff that holds the pill together."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
5m47ut | how do meteorites get their intricate patterns? | for example: _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5m47ut/eli5_how_do_meteorites_get_their_intricate/ | {
"a_id": [
"dc0popw",
"dc0rk1o",
"dc1ax2a"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"when molten lava is ejected from a planet, due to an impact (big one). it crystallizes in the cold vacuum of space. like water, and shit. ice cold. ",
"The longer crystals take to form the larger and nicer they are. Meteors cooled pretty damn slowly out there, so they have giant crystals.",
"Beautiful picture! That specific texture is known as a [Widmanstätten pattern](_URL_0_) and is caused by the intercleaving of two iron-nickel minerals (taenite and kamacite) that have slightly different proportions of iron and nickel in them and have grown together in elongate crystals. The pattern is actually only visible after cutting and applying nitric acid, the specimen in your photo has been polished too. \n\nMeteorites can be categorised at the broadest level into stone, iron, or stoney-iron in composition. The iron-nickel crystals here tell us that this is an iron meteorite, which are quite rare, it's thought they represent only about 5% of total meteorite falls. Most iron meteorites are the product of total melting, which produced a layered structure in the parent body as denser minerals and elements gravitate towards the centre. This meteorite likely represents the core of an asteroid (not completely unlike the iron-nickel core of the Earth). \n\nIt's possible that this sample didn't come from a parent body that was completely melted - some iron meteorites were produced by impacts which melted and mixed material at the surface of asteroids, or it could even be from an asteroid with a raisin-bread sort of structure, with discrete pods of iron-nickel metal. \n\nThe only thing for sure is that the material in this sample was once completely molten, (unlike the majority of meteorites which are from partial melts of rock), as it is the cooling of the iron-nickel mixture as a whole which results in the kamacite precipitating from the taenite. A very long cooling time is also necessary - on the order of millions of years. "
]
} | [] | [
"http://i.imgur.com/cb80QMQ.jpg"
] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widmanst%C3%A4tten_patterns"
]
] | |
66tgrg | how do neurons send electrical information for different processes? | Like, what determines which signals produce muscle movement and which ones send out hormones? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/66tgrg/eli5_how_do_neurons_send_electrical_information/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgl6ih7"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It depends on what the neuron sending the signal is connected to. Some are connected to muscles, others are connected to hormone-producing glands."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
8508op | if my steak weighs 100g and the nutrition label says 9g fat and 24g protein. what is the other 67g made up of? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8508op/eli5_if_my_steak_weighs_100g_and_the_nutrition/ | {
"a_id": [
"dvtqotu",
"dvtqrfs"
],
"score": [
6,
7
],
"text": [
"Most likely the remaining weight is water, other minerals and other connective tissues in the steak.",
"It's water. Animals are generally about 60% to 70% water on average. 67g of water in a 100g steak fits perfectly within that."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
cv2f3q | just read that when an organ is transplanted, the recipients immune system attacks the organ restlessly. why does this happen if the recipient needed the organ to live? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cv2f3q/eli5_just_read_that_when_an_organ_is_transplanted/ | {
"a_id": [
"ey1fzed",
"ey1fzxz",
"ey1g29g",
"ey1jo2k",
"ey1ni5j"
],
"score": [
20,
14,
7,
2,
6
],
"text": [
"The word is relentlessly.\n\nBasically, the body doesn't know that it needs that organ. The immune system isn't some intelligent being that can understand organ transplants. All it knows is that there is a mass that doesn't match the body, so it needs to kill it.",
"Your immune system isn't smart enough to know that the transplanted organ it's helpful or necessary. It just finds foreign material is a place where foreign material is not supposed to be, so it does its thing and attacks it. Keep in mind this is all triggered by a complex series of chemical reactions, there's no thinking involved.",
"Your immune system isn't a planning entity. It's more like a simple algorithm. All it sees is a foreign organism invading the host, on account of the implanted organ has different chemical identifiers than home grown tissue would. \n\n\"If I removed this organ I would die\" isn't a thought that would occur to your immune system cause it doesn't think in any meaningful way.",
"The organ is a foreign entity to the body. It does not naturally belong there and it does not matter if the body needs it to survive, the body does not know that and so attacks it like it does all foreign entities that get inside the body.",
"To add more info on top of everyone else's direct answers to the question, the immune system isn't really one cohesive unit so much as a hodgepodge of different types of cells that stack on top of each other (but also talk to each other a ton). Wall incoming...\n\n.\n\nThe first part is the [innate immune system](_URL_0_), which *most* organisms have some form of. It depends on a basic set of receptors for specific structures common to pathogens. For example, lots of bacteria have flagella, whiplike structures poking out of their bodies to move/swim. They're made of a protein called flagellin, which isn't in any of our cells. Innate immune cells have a specific receptor for flagellin. If there's some in your liver, neutrophils, macrophages, etc. recognize that it's not supposed to be there, and they gobble up or poison the bacteria. \n\n**Analogy:** Your body is a country where everyone wears blue T-shirts and Levi's jeans and no one ever wears hats. Bacteria and viruses can wear hats or other clothes. The innate immune system is a militia army all across the country. They wear mass-produced special goggles that trigger a DANGER signal when they see someone wearing hats, or jackets, or leggings. Then they group up and go fight them with knives and axes.\n\n.\n\nBut that doesn't always work, some bacteria might mutate their flagellin to be less \"visible\" (camo hats) or just hide it outright. Sometimes a single bacteria is growing a *lot*, and you just need something more specific to that one. Enter the [adaptive immune system](_URL_1_). This evolved later: vertebrate animals have it, but not invertebrates, plants, or fungi. And this one is *wack*. Instead of specifically targeting molecules that are definitely on pathogens, they target anything and everything that is *not* found in you. Adaptive immune cells (T cells and B cells) are each created with a *single* receptor that is randomly mutated in specific spots, so that it might detect any one protein. One T cell might react against a bacterial protein, another might react against a plant protein, another might actually react to a human lung protein. The reason your immune system isn't constantly attacking your own body is because during the maturation process, special cells show self-proteins to those T and B cells, and if they react too strongly, they get killed. Once they pass this, they're released into the rest of the body. If they detect something, it's almost definitely *not* self, and they multiply like crazy to take down that one thing, either by (T cells) directly killing your own infected cells, or (B cells) creating antibodies that stick to them and flag them for the innate immune system. I could say so much more, but this is already way too long, so... \n\n**Analogy:** Each adaptive immune cell is a soldier that handcrafts a unique pair of goggles. These goggles detect, for example, *only* red and yellow plaid shirts, or *only* Calvin jeans with flowers on them. Some soldiers might accidentally end up with goggles that flag blue T-shirts or Levi's jeans, but they get eliminated before they can go around shooting everyone. The system operates on the principle that if people in those clothes are supposed to be here, the goggles for those clothes wouldn't exist. Many many many of these soldiers with these unique goggles are trained, and most of them go their whole lives without shooting anybody. But once someone's goggles detect something, they call in a SWAT team to shoot everyone carrying that one feature.\n\n.\n\nHow does this relate to organ transplants? It all has to do with that second group. Your adaptive immune cells don't *know* that the foreign organ is supposed to help. Your soldiers don't know that that big group of people with white shirts and white pants is supposed to be another country's relief group coming in to help. Their goggles flag DANGER anyway. That's why when someone receives an organ transplant, they have to take immunosuppressants--stop the whole army."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innate_immune_system",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_immune_system"
]
] | ||
3avlhg | why does it seem like wealthier people produce more attractive children? | Very rarely in my experience so far in life have i met an ugly kid with rich parents, or vice versa. That being said I'm only in high school but that still has to count for something. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3avlhg/eli5_why_does_it_seem_like_wealthier_people/ | {
"a_id": [
"csgd4op",
"csgd6nc",
"csgfcwt"
],
"score": [
12,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"There are several possible reasons rich people might be able to beat the odds and get prettier kids.\n\n1. They can pay for things like dental, braces, fancy haircuts, acne treatments, etc. \n\n2. Wealthy people typically eat healthier, so this might help with body shape, acne, and probably other things.\n\n3. Wealthier people can pay for their kids to do quality sports programs. These things cost money, and nicer sports programs or ones that last all year cost even more money.\n\n4. Attractive people can be more selective in their mates (edit: wealthy people can be similarly selective, so the effect is compounded). Therefore, attractive people tend to find other attractive people who have money. Thus, money stays with those who have money, and so does general attractiveness.\n\nNote: all of these reasons are general and aren't hard and fast rules. Plenty of people go up and down on the wealth ladder during their lifetime so there is a lot more mixing between socioeconomic levels than I portray.",
"Able to afford nicer clothing, makeup/cosmetics, healthier food, time for leisure and exercise and healthy amounts of sleep, etc. Poor kids are getting hand-me-down ill-fitting clothing, eating fast food, etc.",
"I suggest you think of it this way and maybe reverse engineer your question. People who fit the current mold of what is \"attractive\" are more likely to have doors opened for them. Once doors open, it is then easy to follow the prescribed pathway to unearned privilege & fame."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
f1cqld | why in american politics, iowa and new hampshire have such power in the political primaries? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f1cqld/eli5_why_in_american_politics_iowa_and_new/ | {
"a_id": [
"fh3yb10",
"fh3yc6t"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Mostly because they have made laws stating that they get to be the first caucus and first primary election in the US, and no other states are willing to get into the hassle of challenging them for those places. Since they are first in the election season, they get more attention and influence as they are the places where many candidates realize that they don't actually stand a chance and should cancel their campaigns.",
"Iowa and NH are the first primaries to take place, as such, they get a lot of notice and impact. It's a time-based thing, not a demographic based thing.\n\nThat being said, while these get a lot of media attention, for many reasons you've already said, they may or may not actually have that much influence as its not uncommon to see less mainstream candidates perform well in the early primaries and have that performance drop off."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
lev9h | where do large shareholders get their day to day money? | Suppose you are someone who holds a large amount of shares in a large corporation. You are either not an employee of the company or simply do not take a substantial salary in the company (like those CEOs who make a dollar a year).
Because you have a lot of stocks your net worth is in the billions. However, since you don't make a salary, you don't actually have any liquid money. Unless you are willing to sell off pieces of your precious company. Wouldn't you be a homeless billionaire?
In this case, would you live off the dividends of your shares? How much money would a large scale shareholder expect to get off dividends. (In my understanding dividends are your share of the company's profits, correct?) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lev9h/where_do_large_shareholders_get_their_day_to_day/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2s3x77",
"c2s43ih",
"c2s48zn",
"c2s49di",
"c2s3x77",
"c2s43ih",
"c2s48zn",
"c2s49di"
],
"score": [
2,
13,
2,
5,
2,
13,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Also, may I know how company raise money after the IPO? I mean, is it correct to say that after the IPO they have no other way to raise any money, unless they issue more shares? Can the charge fees on each shares traded?",
"CEO's that don't take a salary are generally extremely wealthy to begin with, so it's not much of a problem. If they weren't, then they would just sell a portion of their stock, and that solves the problem. The CEO of a company has control of a company to a much larger degree than his personal share of the stock in that company.\n\nYou can look at Tim Cook's (the new CEO at Apple) [stock history](_URL_0_). He current owns 13k shares, which is pretty much nothing when it comes to power to control the company. Back last march he exercised 300k shares and sold them for $76 million. Of course he's scheduled to receive 1,000,000 shares over the next 10 years, which has a current value of $422 Million. He'll have to make do with that $76 mil until the big pay day comes through.",
"The answer is in [wikipedia](_URL_1_). \n\n > Several top executives in large businesses receive a salary of one dollar. In place of a salary, the executives receive stock options.[1][2] \n\nSo it's not only that they already own stock, they also receive additional stock options every year. They can exercise those options and sell the stock, while still retaining their original shares.\n\nAlso see [DiogenesKuon's reply](_URL_0_).",
"The answer is actually pretty simple.\n\nTheir bank balance is simply just large. The person with a couple thousand in their bank is more concerned about month to month balance but not someone with a couple hundred thousand. A CEO won't be at risk of missing bill payments.\n\nOf course they are using most of their money to make more money, or it exists as 'potential' earnings, but super wealthy people are going to have a significant amount of liquid assets to not worry about day to day payments.\n\ntl;dr: Imagine if you had $500k in your bank account (or several $100k bonds paying out over the next few months) but you now get paid every 6 months instead of bi-monthly. No need to worry about those monthly 400 dollar payments right?",
"Also, may I know how company raise money after the IPO? I mean, is it correct to say that after the IPO they have no other way to raise any money, unless they issue more shares? Can the charge fees on each shares traded?",
"CEO's that don't take a salary are generally extremely wealthy to begin with, so it's not much of a problem. If they weren't, then they would just sell a portion of their stock, and that solves the problem. The CEO of a company has control of a company to a much larger degree than his personal share of the stock in that company.\n\nYou can look at Tim Cook's (the new CEO at Apple) [stock history](_URL_0_). He current owns 13k shares, which is pretty much nothing when it comes to power to control the company. Back last march he exercised 300k shares and sold them for $76 million. Of course he's scheduled to receive 1,000,000 shares over the next 10 years, which has a current value of $422 Million. He'll have to make do with that $76 mil until the big pay day comes through.",
"The answer is in [wikipedia](_URL_1_). \n\n > Several top executives in large businesses receive a salary of one dollar. In place of a salary, the executives receive stock options.[1][2] \n\nSo it's not only that they already own stock, they also receive additional stock options every year. They can exercise those options and sell the stock, while still retaining their original shares.\n\nAlso see [DiogenesKuon's reply](_URL_0_).",
"The answer is actually pretty simple.\n\nTheir bank balance is simply just large. The person with a couple thousand in their bank is more concerned about month to month balance but not someone with a couple hundred thousand. A CEO won't be at risk of missing bill payments.\n\nOf course they are using most of their money to make more money, or it exists as 'potential' earnings, but super wealthy people are going to have a significant amount of liquid assets to not worry about day to day payments.\n\ntl;dr: Imagine if you had $500k in your bank account (or several $100k bonds paying out over the next few months) but you now get paid every 6 months instead of bi-monthly. No need to worry about those monthly 400 dollar payments right?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://biz.yahoo.com/t/15/6289.html"
],
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lev9h/where_do_large_shareholders_get_their_day_to_day/c2s43ih",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-dollar_salary"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://biz.yahoo.com/t/15/6289.html"
],
[
"http:/... | |
4zgq5h | why does unionizing require permission in the us? what activity of a union would otherwise be illegal? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4zgq5h/eli5_why_does_unionizing_require_permission_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6vok5c",
"d6vonxw",
"d6vp7sn",
"d6vptyh"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"They wanted to form a union that would be recognized under the organized labor laws. It's not just a group of people with similar interest. When a labor union proposes negotiations for a contract to cover their members, the company can either negotiate or fire the workers. The company can challenge the union's status as a protected collective bargaining agent, and apparently lose in the case of these grad students.",
"there are very specific rules in the US regarding Unions. Workers are protected from discharge when forming a union. My grandfather lost his job and was blacklisted by employers for trying to form a union in a paper mill. That cannot happen today. The NLRB has to recognize that a group is trying to unionize. That is a process which the NLRB does. So now It is illegal for graduate students to be fired for union activities.",
"Unions have very specific protections for workers and must follow very specific rules and regulation. As such they have to prove that their existence is necessary to protect the workers within them, and that they are complying with all the various regulations. Students do not normally have workers unions, but since graduate students are often the workers on major research projects they felt the need to unionize in order to protect their labor rights. This ruling allows them to form unions which they would not be allowed by default as students. ",
"Freedom of association guarantees everyone the right to form whatever group they want: if you want to get together with some friends and call yourselves the \"Yale Graduate Students' Union\", nobody's stopping you.\n\nBUT, if you want the NLRB to protect you from employer retaliation when you strike or protest, you need to show that your group falls within the NLRB's jurisdiction."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
8hm1vn | why do cowboys in old westerns hold one hand over their revolver? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8hm1vn/eli5_why_do_cowboys_in_old_westerns_hold_one_hand/ | {
"a_id": [
"dyksehe",
"dykupk7"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"If I'm understanding you correctly, I believe they are pulling the hammer back manually before firing which results in better accuracy/better fire rate",
"If you mean when they were duelling and waiting for the signal to draw, holding one hand over the gun in the holster meant that they were able to get to it quickly without actually touching it before whatever signalled the time to start shooting... because fair play and rules and whatnot. I've no idea if that was a real thing or a fiction, but I'd guess the latter.\n\nIf you mean when they're shooting several bullets off in quick succession, that would be a technique called, \"fanning\" the hammer. Old West revolvers were 99% of the time what we'd call \"single action\". The only job that the trigger does on a single action weapon is drop the search spring, which in turn drops the hammer onto a cartridge's primer. To then get the hammer cocked and the cylinder rotated on to present the next cartridge for firing, you'd have to pull the hammer back. Doing this with the thumb of your firing hand can take a little time, so using the base of the palm of your non firing on to crank the hammer back means that you can shoot the next round very quickly, because pulling the trigger is the only thing you'd have to do with your firing hand.\n\nIt's not really holding the non firing hand \"over\" the revolver, but quickly rotating the wrist to catch the hammer with the palm, so it's easy to miss spotting it. That said, the movies typically show this being done at the waist level, which means that you've almost no way to aim the gun, and the feats of accuracy shown in old westerns are complete bullcrap. The movies are still really cool though."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
9dkock | why/how is planned obsolescence not illegal? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9dkock/eli5_whyhow_is_planned_obsolescence_not_illegal/ | {
"a_id": [
"e5i6n3c",
"e5i77wj",
"e5i7nbs"
],
"score": [
3,
11,
7
],
"text": [
"Why would it be? No one is forcing you to buy their product, and you can’t expect a company to support and maintain a product for an infinite amount of time, if you did, they’d not be too keen on making anything new, as they’d have to spend all their time and money dealing with the old. ",
"It's hard to prove that you *meant* to make the device break down in two years. And cutting production costs is not illegal. ",
"First off, it's not an explicit choice to design something for \"planned obsolescence.\" And virtually nothing can be designed to last forever. So companies designing products weigh tradeoffs on aspects like expected lifespan in a customer's life, costs, and other performance factors to design a product that will best meet all these needs.\n\nLet's take an iPhone as an example.... most people upgrade their phone every 2-3 years. Most people want something lightweight, small enough to fit in their pocket. They want to spend a few hundred dollars. So Apple, Samsung design to those specs. Could they build a phone to last for 10 years? Maybe... but how many people WANT their phone to last 10 years, given how technology advances? Who wants a phone that's 3x as thick to withstand that many years of abuse, battery loss of life, etc.? And would people be willing to pay $2000 for such a device?\n\nAnd with all items people buy, there are a variety of options that run the price/quality spectrum from which they can choose to buy. You can buy a $20 toaster that'll last you through a year at college. You can buy a $300 one that will last a generation -- your choice."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
vrwnr | what's up with quebec and why are they different from the rest of canada? | I'm a non-Canadian and from reading on the internet and Reddit, it seems (from an outsider's point of view) that Quebec is like Canada's bastard state. From what I can gather, Quebec appears like its own country within a country: French as the official language and different laws (they seem to always be excluded or different in contest rules, shipping, taxes?)
What/why are there differences between Quebec and other provinces in Canada? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vrwnr/eli5_whats_up_with_quebec_and_why_are_they/ | {
"a_id": [
"c572xp3",
"c573r71",
"c576azh"
],
"score": [
9,
30,
13
],
"text": [
"Way back (e.g. 17th-18th century), both England and France were colonizing North America. England and France fought wars over land.\n\nEngland won.\n\nThe French, rather than being slaughtered or forced to leave, were allowed to remain in [their own settlements](_URL_0_). Over time those descendants moved to what is essentially present day Quebec. French settlers, who lost a war, stubbornly held on to their own culture and language.\n\nWhen Canada was confederated, the French demanded their own special sets of rights before they would join. \n\n- their laws are based on French Napoleonic Code, rather than English Common Law\n- all of Canada is officially bilingual (English+French) because of Quebec\n\nToday, two hundred years later, they still consider themselves a special subset of the rest of Canada. \n\nThink of them as Canada's version of Ireland. They're still mad they lost the war, and want to continue to be grumpy victims.",
"The French were the first successful European settlers of what today is Canada. In theory they ruled a vast range of North America, stretching from eastern Canada to the Great Lakes (including all of present-day Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin), then down the Mississippi river valley all the way down to New Orleans. [This is a good map to give you an idea.](_URL_1_)\n\nBut this was mostly in theory. The only places that the French really settled in numbers were Acadia (present day Canadian Maritimes), Quebec and the New Orleans area. In the rest they mostly just had small trading forts to trade with the natives and small villages. We do however still have French placenames in the USA as a result of this—Detroit and Des Moines are the most familiar ones—and [there was once a dialect of French spoken in Missouri](_URL_2_) and other places in the American Midwest.\n\nIn a series of wars between 1713 and 1763, the British defeated the French and took control of what today is called Canada. First they conquered Acadia (today's Canadian Maritimes, Nova Scotia and New Brusnwick). A very large number of the French-Acadian settlers left went to Louisiana and settled in the swampy *bayou* area west of New Orleans; today these people's descendants are known as the Cajuns (a word that comes from \"Acadian\").\n\nIn 1763 the British won another war and [gained a huge chunk of the French lands in North America](_URL_0_). Most of this land ended up as part of the USA a couple decades later (and the USA in 1803 bought the remaining French lands in North America).\n\nBut what is now Quebec came under British rule, and the British set up a government there to rule the region. This government was dominated by English speakers, who encouraged other English-speaking colonists to come and treated them favorably, so that English speakers became the wealthy ruling class in Quebec, which ruled over the poorer, French-speaking descendants of the original colonists.\n\nThe French speakers gradually gained power over the next two centuries as Canada became more democratic, but Quebec really exploded politically after 1950, when the French-speaking population got a lot more defiant about ending a lot of the things that kept the English speakers on top of them economically.\n\nSo for example, today in Quebec it's illegal to forbid employees from speaking French at their jobs; employees have a right to work in French. It's illegal to have an English-only sign on your storefront; signs must be primarily in French (so the KFC stores in Quebec are actually called \"PFK\" (*Poulet Frit Kentucky*)), and if there is text in other languages it must be smaller than the French. Products offered for sale in Quebec must have French-language materials (with a few exceptions).\n\nBasically, they have government-enforced French as first language in order to break the power of the old English-speaking upper class.",
"The history lessons here are great, and I won't claim to write a better answer than them, but I'll explain more about the modern legal situation.\n\n**The Legal System**\n\nQuébec's (the correct spelling has the accent) law and culture is derived from French law and culture, not English law and culture. This has many, many effects.\n\nFor instance, in England, much of the law was built up over the course of many years, by individual magistrates--basically judges---who were responsible for settling local law. An individual could appeal the decision of a lower authority all the way up to the House of Lords (which also makes laws; nowadays the UK has a Supreme Court instead of the House of Lords for judicial cases). One key component of this system, that eventually became a law, is that of precedent: if a ruling is made by a higher court, then every court that is lower than that court---whose decisions can be appeal to that court---must follow along with the ruling. For instance, if the House of Lords said in a ruling that a person must be 18 years old to form a valid contract, then a magistrate could not, no matter the circumstances, rule that a 17-year old could make a valid contract. Only the House of Lords could change that rule.\n\nThis system led to the gradual development of lots of law over the span of centuries. A very large amount of modern English law was developed in this fashion, such as contract law and tort law (tort law is the law covering the things you can sue someone over). It is only written down in the court records, where the judgements are delivered. It is called the common law.\n\nIn France, by contrast, the upheaval of the French Revolution caused a brand new governmental system, and they sought to revamp their legal system entirely. They created a code---called the Civil Code---which outlined many of the rules that governed day-to-day affairs. I do not know the history nearly as well, but the principle of courts actually establishing new law was not one present in France. The same emphasis is not placed on precedent; each case is evaluated individually within the scope of the law available.\n\nQuébec naturally copied the French system due to its French roots. This massively different legal system explains a lot of the day-to-day differences. There are also many differences that are simply a matter of the French defining law differently than did the English courts (There are many stupid bits about English common law, really). The civil law still exists today in the form of the [Civil Code of Québec](_URL_0_), which has 3168 clauses. Common law concepts such as precedent do exist in Québec (the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada is binding across Canada), but the civil law is very different. This accounts for a fair bit of it.\n\n**A Sentiment of Independence**\n\nOther posters have described the way that Québec's French culture evolved and took over the English. But it's more complicated than that. Québec's French-speaking culture is often seen to be at odds with the culture in the rest of Canada. The culture has, for various historical reasons, evolved itself into one of a duality of Québecois and Canadian, and this culture does not exist in the rest of Canada. It's similar, I think (an Albertan, I should note), to how many European cultures see themselves in Europe. They are a part of the larger European culture, but also a part of their own national culture, and the two are different things.\n\nOne big consequence of this is that there is a desire to be independent. The cultural separation extends itself to the legal level, with Québec often trying to avoid or work around the federal government (it doesn't help that the Québecois seem to be much more liberal than the rest of the country, and this creates a very strong tension whenever the federal government is conservative). An excellent example is taxes. Every province in Canada has an income tax, as does the federal government. Québec, however, is the only province to collect this tax independently. Every other province allows Revenue Canada to collect the tax on their behalf. This is mostly a political matter, and one of preference. There is no fundamental reason why Québec couldn't have Revenue Canada collect their income taxes, nor why the rest of Canada couldn't collect their own. But the Québcois culture is stronger than the Canadian culture in Québec, and until that changes\n\nThe rest of Canada has slowly, over time, tended to unify its laws. It is simply that Québec does things very differently and don't follow the herd, and do their own thing. It's a bit of a headache sometimes, but in my mind it's also what makes Québec great.\n\n**Political Battles**\n\nQuébec is in a very weird situation in that it is a very large and very definable minority of the Canadian populace. While it is, in my opinion, a fundamental part of Canadian culture, Québec is constantly at risk of losing its culture to the rest of Canada and to the USA, in particular due to the language barrier. As such, and as a result of the cultural divide, Québec politicians tend to be rather Québec-centered. This is certainly not the view of all Québecois, or of all their politicians, but it is a particular trend among their elected representatives. This often gives them the perception of being (as a whole) whiny or self-centered. But this can have particular effects.\n\nQuébec's government has never formally accepted the Constitution of Canada as adopted in 1982, largely because it did not feel that it was getting all that it wanted (such as stronger guarantees for representation in the federal goverment). The Supreme Court has opined that its acceptance is not necessary for the Constitution to take effect, but nonetheless this remains a political sore spot. Additionally, any new amendments could be blocked within Québec by the government of Québec, so Québec's participation is, in the long run, necessary from a political standpoint.\n\n**My Opinion**\n\nIf you ask me, a lot of the problems are probably due to mismanaged expectations and a sense of distance between Québec and the rest of Canada. And if you ask me, they're more right than wrong on that. In the rest of Canada, our culture is very similar to that of the USA, and it's becoming increasingly so. If anything, it's the Québecois (and the New Brunswickers!) who keep the real Canadian culture alive. There are many fantastic films coming out of Québec, even bilingual ones, but they get ignored because they aren't mainstream enough. And a lot of the rest of Canada doesn't see the problem because it's just whiny Québec going to hold another separation referendum.\n\n(and the referenda don't help at all, because they produce a fair amount of \"good, let em see what good it does them\" attitude among the rest of Canada)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NorthAmerica1762-83.png",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nouvelle-France_map-en.svg",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_French"
],
[
"http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecha... | |
3ni3ae | where does that typical fridge taste come from when you've had a jug of water or lemonade standing in there without a lid for a couple of days? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ni3ae/eli5_where_does_that_typical_fridge_taste_come/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvoa1pr",
"cvobra5",
"cvoetg6"
],
"score": [
2,
3,
5
],
"text": [
"Stale air. The fridge does not circulate air inside itself. It is the same cold dense air that the 2 day old burritos and soggy lettuce is sharing.Almost everything is porous and absorbs smells and other funk. Water is a great attractor of \"funk\" things are absorbed because thus world revolves around water. Things go into solution, they rate absorbed.",
"Water molecules condense around microscopic food particles in the refrigerator air, settling on every surface, including that open container of butter, or lid-less jug of water.",
"Basically there are food particles all over the fridge, and they accumulate on everything. If you leave something uncovered, it they will accumulate directly on your food/drink. You can avoid this and have a \"fresh\" fridge by keeping an open box of baking soda inside."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
29kswj | why ukip protested during recent eu parliament meeting. | I know very almost nothing about European politics and would like to know more about why there was a protest and the politics behind this. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29kswj/eli5_why_ukip_protested_during_recent_eu/ | {
"a_id": [
"cilvmlj"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"UKIP is the United Kingdom Independence Party, and they believe that Britain should leave the EU completely. Ironically, they have seats in the EU parliament but not in the British parliament.\n\nThey staged a protest in order to get media attention. What they're officially saying, though, is that they do not recognise the EU an them or that flag: in their statement they said that they are \"symbols of our servitude inside a political union which the British people reject\"."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
3k4hf5 | why did women's periods evolved to be the way they are now? | I can't really reason why the misery women go through monthly would be beneficial to the species. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3k4hf5/eli5_why_did_womens_periods_evolved_to_be_the_way/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuuofna",
"cuuojms",
"cuupavy",
"cuupp29"
],
"score": [
9,
8,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"From an evolutionary point of view, a woman actually shouldn't have a period... like ever. Lots of strong men should be competing to have sex with her, and she should be getting pregnant again and again until she gets too old for babies or dies trying.\n\nSo there's not a whole lot of evolutionary pressure to create a period that isn't miserable - it's sort of just a failsafe that gets rid of the old egg and related materials just in case she doesn't get knocked up.",
"Evolution is not about evolving best possible results, but \"good enough\". Even though menstruation is painful and messy, there has not been evolutionary pressure for that pain and mess to disappear. It's not so harmful that it would hinder the reproductive rate of women and thus it hasn't disappeared. So there's not really any reason for menstruation to be painful and messy. It's just a side effect of other properties.",
"There is an amazing article on Quora about this by Suzanne Sadedin that answered everything for me. Google \"how the woman got her period\".",
"[This is a very interesting article](_URL_0_). It looks at academic research, which shows that those species that have periods are the ones where the mother's hormones control the thickness of the womb lining, and species who don't have periods are those where the embryos hormones control the thickness of the womb lining.\n\nThe species that have periods have aggressive embryos, that burrow into the lining of the womb in a search for more nutrients. In response to this, mothers have evolved to develop thicker womb linings."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150420-why-do-women-have-periods"
]
] | |
1mzaak | vegas odds for betting on sports (the line, the spread, etc) | I find my favorite betting to be on sporting events, mostly football and baseball, but generally I just pick a winner. I'd like to become more familiar with the line/spread etc. Who determines them, what's a safe/risky bet...all that sort of stuff. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mzaak/eli5_vegas_odds_for_betting_on_sports_the_line/ | {
"a_id": [
"cce0ciz",
"cce0uta",
"cce0vy7"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"One team is usually better than they other, so that team gets a handicap of a certain number of points. For example, the Broncos are favored over the Raiders by 16 points for tonight's game. That means if you bet on the Broncos, they have to win by that amount (called the spread), for you get your money. And if you bet on the Raiders, they can lost by 15 points, and you'd still win.",
"I won't go into a lot of details, but i'll help you out for tonight's game, Broncos at Raiders:\nThe line is at +17 Raiders and -17 Broncos meaning the Raiders are a 17 point underdog. If you bet on the Raiders and the Raiders \"cover\" (ie, lose by less than 17 or win the game), you will get paid.\n\nThe Money Line is betting on a team to win. The Broncos are -1750 and Raiders are +1125.\n\nThese + and - are the amounts mean two different things. A negative number refers to how much you would have to bet to win $100. In this case, you would have to wager $1,750 on the Broncos to win $100. This is because the Broncos are a heavy favorite and very likely to win.\n\nThe Raiders, on the other hand, would pay out $1,125 if you were to bet $100 on them winning.\n\nIt all becomes far more complex with parlays, teasers, etc.\nTo answer your question:\nSafe bet: Broncos Money Line\nMedium bet: Either team to cover the spread, or betting the over/under total points scored (pretty simple stuff)\nRisky bet: Raiders to win",
"So if you go to Vegas or an online offshore sports book you'll see two things. \n\nFirst you'll see the odds listed as such:\n\n > SEA -17.5\n\nThat means that Seattle is the favorite. The spread is the denoted by the that -17.5. If you were to bet on Seattle, they would have to win by 18 points to 'cover the spread'. This is done so people will still bet on games that aren't competitive. If they win by less that the spread then you would win if you 'took the points', or bet that they wouldn't cover. \n\nThe other item denoted will look like this:\n\n > -120\n\nThis is the payout. If it is negative, that means you need to bet that amount to win $100. If it were positive, you'd need to bet $100 to win $120. \n\nThats what most of that means, the line is the total number of points scored in the game, will be denoted as such:\n\n > Line: 68.5\n\nThis is an over/under. You either bet that 69 or more points will be scored, or 68 or less. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
2tsmam | the state of nj just issued a state-wide travel ban. how are travel bans legal? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tsmam/eli5_the_state_of_nj_just_issued_a_statewide/ | {
"a_id": [
"co1ydel",
"co1ydig",
"co1ydl7",
"co1z9su",
"co1zdm3",
"co2163h"
],
"score": [
8,
6,
8,
5,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Because folks have to rescue the stranded fools thus risking themselves.",
"New Jersey is under a state of emergency. Governments can ban you from doing pretty much whatever they'd like during a state of emergency, if the ban is necessary to prevent people from being hurt.",
"Because you do not have the right to use public roads, you have the privilege. They cannot prevent you from going somewhere if say you decided to go by dog sled, but they can shut down the public roads and prevent travel on them. Which is what has happened. ",
"Because it's a matter of public safety. If you're on the road during a blizzard and you get into an accident, now the police and rescue workers have to risk their asses and waste their time pulling you out of a ditch or somehow get you to a hospital. It's not an easy thing to do during a blizzard.\n\nAlso, the state/city workers need to plow the roads and truck the snow out. That's a monumental task when 2-3 feet of snow piles up overnight. They can't really do their jobs if idiots are driving around for no good reason, getting stuck, and causing accidents.\n\nA travel ban makes it so that only someone with a life-or-death emergency has a reason to be on the road. Even doctors and other essential personnel won't be on the roads -- they'll be sleeping or staying in the hospital until the ban is lifted and the roads are safe enough to travel. My mom works at a hospital and the staff stays put. They all bring changes of clothes and toiletries, there are plenty of beds and showers, and the hospital is stocked with food. There is no reason to leave aside from an actual emergency.",
"In certain well defined situations, the government can declare a state of emergency, and restrict rights they otherwise cannot.",
"They issued a DRIVING ban. If you want to leave your house and walk, you're free to do so. \n\nThese sorts of \"bans\" are only intermittently enforced, btw. If you get stuck, the cop's likely to ticket you just for making him have to save your ass. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
8sbnpg | what is the purpose of war games/military exercises with other countries? does it actually provide a strategic benefit or is it just a show of force? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8sbnpg/eli5_what_is_the_purpose_of_war_gamesmilitary/ | {
"a_id": [
"e0y37br",
"e0y3alt",
"e0y3fj7"
],
"score": [
20,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"It allows the joint forces to work out any communications and logistics issues so that if they're ever fighting together in a state of war, they minimize losses.\n\nIt's also a show of force.",
"It helps identify communications issues and command chains such that problems can be worked through before they're being done in a live situation. For instance, if a US Naval Admiral needs to be able to order certain units from South Korea, but the SK unit doesn't know to accept/execute those orders or the two teams don't have a proper encrypted communications channel, etc.",
"It also helps the troops with \"muscle memory\" type reactions in the case of a live event. We did exercises all the time for things such as active shooters / mock deployments. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
5a0exd | common core math? | I grew up and went to school in the era before Common Core math, can somebody explain to me why they are teaching math this way now and hell it even makes any kind of sense? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5a0exd/eli5_common_core_math/ | {
"a_id": [
"d9cpemg",
"d9cqtvz",
"d9cr7du",
"d9cr9t8",
"d9crb6l",
"d9cs1cg",
"d9csebo",
"d9cyp8z",
"d9d00wl",
"d9d0q63",
"d9d6lr4"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
127,
19,
8,
13,
11,
4,
7,
8,
8
],
"text": [
"From what I've seen, it's about \"making 10's\" Like if you want to add 8+4, most people would just go up four from 8. But CC wants you to go 8+2=10, plus 2 more (4-2) is 12. This is all I've seen of it; I don't have kids, and I'm not a teacher.\n\nI think they're teaching it this way because it makes it sort of easier to do things like \"If something in a store is 30% off, what's the final cost?\" It's 3 groups of 10% off added together, and then subtracted from the original cost. ",
"Basically it is teaching you how to do slightly complex math in your head. It has a lot of adding 10s and breaking problems apart into smaller parts. ",
"In the past, the focus of math instruction was on calculating (\"doing math\"). This was especially important in the era before ubiquitous technology with a calculator in everyone's pocket. It also meant that being taught one way to perform a calculation was enough, such as the traditional way to multiply two multi-digit numbers.\n\nBut the catch was that there was one method for every topic, and those methods didn't connect well across the years. Learning how to multiply numbers in 3rd grade and learning how to, say, multiply two polynomials in 11th grade were taught using completely different methods, even though the underlying structure is actually the same. As you can imagine, this led to students feeling overwhelmed trying to remember dozens of different math techniques separately instead of understanding the structures they shared in common, like trying to memorize the spelling of a word without knowing how it's pronounced.\n\nThe Common Core State Standards are an attempt to do two things: (1) Teach multiple ways of performing early math tasks, to both increase learning for students across many different learning preferences and to stress underlying themes and structures instead of just processes. And (2) to emphasize what mathematical thinking is really about - how to think about mathematics and not just how to do it - by adding what are called \"standards of mathematical practice\" to the content. These include things like \"I know how to look for and make use of repeated structures and patterns\" which is a skill that leads to math success in every year of school whether it's addition or simplifying fractions or graphing parabolas.\n\nThe real catch is that many math *teachers* weren't educated to think this deeply about math, especially elementary school teachers who usually don't get degrees in math. So if they're anxious about math to begin with and barely comfortable teaching basic processes, trying to teach for deep understanding using multiple approaches that they never practiced themselves in school is a real, difficult challenge (and the reason for so many frustrated and derisive Facebook memes posted by teachers and parents!).",
"The answers you have received so far are wrong. Common Core math is literally just a set of standards that children are expected to hit at different grade levels. So in kindergarten a common core standard would be \"should be able to count to 100\". \n\nWhat you see online are examples (and usually some of the worst examples) of certain Common Core curriculums. With that being said, teachers, schools, or districts are free to choose what curriculum they use. As long as a child meets the standards, it shouldn't matter what curriculum you use. \n\nWhat people above are explaining is called Number Sense. ",
"Common core is more concerned with teaching methods of doing math than memorizing multiplication tables, etc. For example, 33 + 17 = ?. They teach kids that they can just do it on their fingers (obviously) they can write it out the way you and I were likely taught (3+7, carry the 1, etc.), they can 'make tens' (recognize that the 3 and 7 make a ten, then add that to the 3 and 1), and other techniques that are hard to explain in a text comment (like number bonds), but basically are all different ways of approaching solving problems. \n\nSome techniques click with some kids, some with others. The goal is to give kids the tools to do math in ways that work for them. \n\nThe inane controversy arises because this, by necessity, starts with teaching all those techniques. Some parents see their kid get an answer wrong despite the number being right and think the teacher is dumb or common core is bs. 'Hur dur, my kid wrote 50, that's right. Common core is dumb.' No. The question involved showing that the student understands what a number bond is, not adding 33+17. 33 and 17 were just peripheral details to the real question. \n\nAs an aside, common core also puts a lot of emphasis on reading comprehension for answering word problems. The overall point is having the kids learn the techniques so they can answer the real questions, the much less straightforward word problems. ",
"Hi there, I have a degree in Elementary Education and I wanted to chime in. Most of my studies were on the Common Core in college. Similar to what the top poster is saying, instead of merely teaching kids that 2x6 is 12 (Memorize your times tables, not much explanation) you teach them a variety of strategies to solve the problem. A more concrete example would be with subtraction. 43-27 looks pretty complicated to a 2nd/3rd grader. I was taught as a kid to write it out with the 43 on top, subtract 27. Looking at it then is confusing because you can't do 3-7 (at that age). So you teach them to take the ten from the \"40\" And continue to subtract. If a student does not understand why they do this is defeats the purpose. A strategy a student could use if they were confused would be \"counting up\". Instead of subtracting and finding it difficult with 3-7, they can instead count up from 27 until they get to 43, this giving them the same answer. In all the Common Core is about making sure students understand why they are doing older strategies as well as teaching a variety of strategies for children to keep \"in their back pocket\" so to speak.",
"A lot of the examples that I see are people getting upset about schools that teach alternative methods. For example, when I was growing up the only thing that mattered was rote memorization. You had to memorize the tables and nothing else mattered. But I'm really bad at conceptualizing abstract math. I can only do math when it is related to something concrete. So I would often try to visualize blocks in groups of ten, and things like that. \n\nMany of the alleged \"common core\" worksheets are trying to demonstrate different ways of solving problems. What works best for one child might not work so great for another, so they are demonstrating many different methods and letting the kids use whatever strategy works best for them.\n\nA lot of the hate \"Common Core\" gets in internet memes and stuff is when adults who learned math one way are not familiar with alternative strategies. They learned math by rote memorization, so they don't understand making children create matrices or count blocks or things like that. So then THEY get frustrated because they feel like the school is doing it \"wrong\" (where \"wrong\" just means \"different). And it's entirely possible that the worksheet was just poorly written or the teacher did a bad job of explaining it. Or maybe the kid just didn't pay attention and it's their own fault they don't get it.\n\nSomehow this has morphed into a political meme, where these strange new math things are part of a liberal conspiracy to ruin our children's minds with their strange new ideas. I don't pretend to understand it. Its part of the narrative conservatives spread, in which everything new or different is an active attack on their way of life.",
"When you took math(s) in school, the teacher probably told you to \"show your work\". You probably didn't, and lost a lot of points here and there because you got a wrong answer without showing your work.\n\nCommon Core is all about the work, less about the answer. They're more like logic puzzles than finite math. It's about making kids think in different ways, using different patterns and different visualizations, so that they build a **facility** for ***math*** instead of ***memorization***.",
"All of these answers are great. People should know that this has happened before. Every generation or two they re-evaluate how something is taught and when a noticeable change is made to subject like arithmetic -- which once mastered becomes more 'rote' than understood -- then it causes a big stir.\\\n\nHere is a song from over fifty years ago (1965) parodying the \"New Math\" which was being taught in schools.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nNotice the similar themes heard today. \"Some of you who have small children may have perhaps been put in the embarrassing position of being unable to do your child's arithmetic homework because of the current revolution in mathematics teaching known as the new math\" .... \"in the new approach, as you know, the important thing is to understand what you're doing rather than to get the right answer\".\n\nAnd the video is fun, too.",
"They teach tricks that you weren't taught as a kid... and some adults don't like that... even though what they are teaching is intuitively how you already do math whether you recognize it or not.\n\nYou have 98 things and want to subtract 15. It's easier to go 100-17 or even 100-20+3 to get 83. And a lot of times you'll even catch yourself doing something like this without even realizing it. \n\nThey've just come up with a way to teach that manner of math formally...\n\nBut it's new and different and therefore scary and wrong.",
"When you grew up, you learned \"the new math\" and your parents asked exactly the same question.\n\nThe \"new math\" introduced \"word problems\" because the skill of being able to turn a problem, as you encounter it in the wiled, into a formula as you'd encounter in math, is a necessary skill that was missing from the curriculum of your great grandparent's day. Finding A for \"A=xy\" is easy, knowing that \"how big is this rug\" is the problem \"A=xy\" as seen in every-day life is an important skill.\n\nSo the old rote \"memorize and execute\" model of the basic math was extended to the \"new\" model of \"analyze and execute\".\n\nThat made math something that people could use in every day life.\n\nBut now we've turned the same crank that led from basic math to \"new math\" and discovered that the reasons behind _why_ math works is important and has been short-changed.\n\nCommon Core Math is the attempt to fix that lack-of-why by _explicitly_ _teaching_ an underlying literacy in how math exists in the real world.\n\nFor example, if I get some random number of people and a bunch of playing cards and tell you to \"deal out the deck\", you will naturally give one card to each person, then give each person a second card, then give each person a third card and so on until you run out of cards. This system is \"fair and natural\".\n\nBut you _don't_ think of dealing out the deck of cards as \"division\", even though that's exactly what you did.\n\nAnd if I gave you a pallet of dozen-egg cartons and told you to give everyone eleven eggs, you'd just take out a carton for each person, remove one egg from each carton as you handed it over, and then make up extra cartons with the removed eggs, producing a twelfth carton of eleven eggs for every eleven cartons you doled out.\n\nThat latter thing with the eggs is part of functional estimation. If I ask you to multiply 98 * 57 \"real quick\" you may well just say \"well fifty seven times one hundred is 5700 then fifty-seven times two is 114 so subtract 114 from 5700 and the answer is 5586\".\n\nCommon Core Math is that thing I just did to find 5586, and that you know how to do already, but as an actual lesson instead of cheat.\n\nSee it turns out that the \"memorize and execute\" and indeed the \"analyze and execute\" modes of doing math _strip_ _away_ the natural function of normal thought. This \"stripping away\" makes math _much_ _harder_ than it needs to be.\n\nHuman beings do math all the time. From making change to guessing how much pasta needs to be cooked for dinner.\n\nFormal math has separated that natural math from \"school math\" in a way that is _absolute_ _sabotage_ to the mind's normal organization.\n\nSo Common Core Math is the attempt to stop blowing up that bridge by showing kids that the short cuts that they use every day are the base principles of math.\n\nThe hope is to prevent the mind-fuck \"new math\" and \"basic math\" tend to inflict on students.\n\nParent's have trouble with Common Core because they've been mind-fucked into blindness. They've been rendered functionally helpless by _their_ education. They see math as this thing you do in school, and in emergency situations, that has noting to do with life.\n\nSo Common Core is the _attempt_ to remove the question \"when will I ever _use_ _this_ Mr. Desimone?\" from the math curriculum by making advanced math the obvious extension of daily math.\n\nAnd as the curriculum rolls out, the teachers, which learned the same bad lessons as the parents, are afflicted by the same blindness. So since the _teachers_ don't understand why the lesson is being taught, they make the egregious errors you find people shouting about all over the internet.\n\nBut the conflict over the added material today is no different now than the conflict was over \"new math\" in the sixties and seventies. Making _adults_ learn is hard, so the parents and teachers are in an uproar because their torturous past was \"good enough for them\" so why shouldn't their kids get the same torture?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIKGV2cTgqA"
],
[],
[]
] | |
3l7qfo | i can buy a 16gb flash drive for < $10 but 16gb of ram costs almost $100. aren't they the same? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3l7qfo/eli5_i_can_buy_a_16gb_flash_drive_for_10_but_16gb/ | {
"a_id": [
"cv3w63x",
"cv3w8pz"
],
"score": [
6,
3
],
"text": [
"Nope. RAM is several orders of magnitude faster and doesn't store data after it's powered off. They are fundamentally different.",
"RAM is much faster and more advanced than a flash drive. Flash drives are bottlenecked by their i/o method like USB 2.0, which is pretty slow, so the actual data transfer rate the drive is capable of doesn't have to be higher than the data transfer rate of USB 2.0. RAM on the other hand is capable of much higher speeds due to it being plugged directly into the motherboard.\n\nYou can use USB drives as virtual RAM on Windows computers."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
1uijf0 | why is listening to a song in my head not as satisfying as actually listening to it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1uijf0/eli5_why_is_listening_to_a_song_in_my_head_not_as/ | {
"a_id": [
"ceigc8c",
"ceigcg6",
"ceiibtu",
"ceijj8j",
"ceijkkt",
"ceimox2",
"ceiu1sy"
],
"score": [
7,
16,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I would say because when you actually listen to it your brain is being externally stimulated, having an auditory sensation you could say. When your just listening to it in your head it is a memory. Just like asking why when I replay my birthday party over in my head its not as fun? Or my first kiss not as exciting, or that burger not as tasty, etc. There is nothing quite as sensational as the moment your living in right now. Literally. \nI am no expert though, just an opinion.",
"Humans have great potential... not perfect. Mind mimics some sounds, not all. Can recall melodies... maybe not harmonies... not all at once. Actual recordings clearer, more precise. Can better produce fuller, more intricate, complex sounds. Pleasing to the ear, like a complex dish. Memory of food not as satisfying as eating, is it? Sensory processing preferable to limited, sometimes fallible, memory.",
"It's also worth noting that your mind cannot create the actual feeling of the song, so all the sensation from these frequencies is lost.",
"I actually experience the opposite. I hear songs more amazing in my head than they are in actuality. I usually augment the music and change sounds around and make them sound more how I prefer. As a result, though, a lot of those songs in my head, regardless of genre, end up sounding alike.",
"Your brain is capable of remembering parts of the song, but not all of it. You can probably remember the lyrics, the more standout solos, and maybe one of the instruments. All the more detailed stuff, the other instruments, the exact way the song is sung, the fine details you don't remember, so when you actually listen to it you pick up on all those details you dont get just thinking about it.",
"I'm not an expert on the matter but as a trained musician, can tell you that songs seldom sound the same in your head as they actually do. Simplest test is, sometimes there will be this song playing in my head but if I try to sing along it is actually in a completely different key from the original. When I sing it out loud, can easily tell it is too low/high, but as long as it's just in my head it sounds fine. \nHuman memory is far from perfect. This is why eyewitness accounts are the least reliable form of evidence.",
"Why is looking at the Mona Lisa not as satisfying as looking at a drawing I did of it?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
oovgy | what are inflation and deflation and how do they affect growth/gdp? | Well. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/oovgy/eli5_what_are_inflation_and_deflation_and_how_do/ | {
"a_id": [
"c3iwqzw",
"c3j04y5",
"c3jwqhm"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"With a little bit of inflation (i.e. prices going up), people are encouraged to spend what they've got so their money doesn't lose value. The GDP tends to grow nicely in these conditions.\n\nWith a lot of inflation, people want to instantly invest in bonds or commodities that are very stable. The idea is they want to turn their money into a product that won't change in value. So when inflation stops rising, they can sell their bonds or commodities, and effectively be where they left off. This hurts the economy, but it has a strange effect of artificially growing the GDP. (If the cost of items has gone up, then the GDP also artificially goes up.) For example, some of the more liberal economists have suggested we hyperinflate our way out of our national debt. Make everything perhaps 10 times more expensive to buy, so our employers give us 10 times as much, we spend 10 times as much, products cost 10 times as much. And now our national debt feels 10 times smaller. But getting there would almost certainly involve a huge recession along the way. And it would really tick off investors in US bonds, almost certainly forcing the interest rates on those to drastically climb.\n\nDeflation means that people don't want to spend their money, because it effectively gets more buying power by just sitting there. For example, with inflation, if your great great grandfather left $100 sitting in a vault, and you just discovered it, that $100 is worth less now than it did at the time. With deflation, the opposite happens. People, businesses, and investors won't spend, because they can purchase more later if they choose not to do anything. This makes the economy very bad. It also means the calculations for the GDP must also be lowered.\n\nOn a side note, this is Reddit, and it is full of Ron Paul fanatics. Ron Paul has effectively redefined inflation to mean the increase in money supply. It's hard to have good communication about inflation with Ron Paul, because his idea of inflation is entirely different from everyone else's idea of inflation. For example, lets say our country has 10% more people in it, so we increase the money supply by 10%. That would effectively mean that each person can have an equal amount of money still, and thus inflation could still be unchanged. Ron Paul would call that 10% inflation, and say it's dangerous for the country. ",
"Hmmm... We're pretty close to the start of the semester, aren't we? :P",
"Inflation is an increase in the general price level. This means that it is in increase in all goods not just one. On average prices have increased. Deflation is the same but in the opposite direction. Prices across the economy have decreased. Inflation and Deflation don't affect growth and GDP. Growth affects GDP and GDP is used as a measure of growth. Some people have also defined GDP wrongly. GDP is the value of output at current and adjusted prices. By adjusted it means they have accounted for inflation but don't worry about that. Growth affects inflation as well. For example if there has been growth then there are more jobs, more jobs means more people employed and more people earning more money. If more people are earning money they are going to spend more and demand more. Now in comes demand and supply curves. Put simply demand increases, supply doesn't and so prices rise. I can't really explain it without teaching you a whole bunch of other economics.\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
en0sos | why can't we reproduce near extinct animals genetically the way the livestock animals do? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/en0sos/eli5_why_cant_we_reproduce_near_extinct_animals/ | {
"a_id": [
"fdstzq1",
"fdsuek1",
"fdsv7l3",
"fdswge0",
"fdt31mg"
],
"score": [
3,
12,
3,
2,
4
],
"text": [
"They can clone or alter existing animals because after they have done the genetic work - such as copying the genome to clone sheep, or splicing in jellyfish DNA to create glow-in-the-dark rabbits - they can implant the embryo in a live animal that is close enough to the right type - preferably identical - that it can successfully gestate the clone.\n\nWe can't make Jurassic Park a real thing because we lack living dinosaurs to implant the 'cloned' egg into.",
"The problem with near-extinct animals is genetic pool. Basically if you don't have a lot of animals to begin with, you have to inbreed a lot and that's detrimental to the health of the new animals you breed.\n\nCloning doesn't help because breeding with your mother's clone is still incest.",
"Livestock reproduction usually involves using sperm from one male and distributing it to a couple hundred females (in cattle) which requires them to live in relative captivity, and a lot of equipment and technology readily available. \n\nWith near extinct species, we would have to catch the animal, bring them to the equipment or vice versa, do the procedure, and release them in a safe place again. For most endangered species, this kind of thing can be extremely traumatizing and possibly cause issues with the pregnancy, and the entire process may be with a dangerous species. \n\nEssentially, this kind of thing would generally cause more harm than good with most endangered species",
"A lot of people forget that DNA also has a half life. DNA from bone has a half-life of 521 years: after that amount of time, half of the nucleotide bonds that hold it together are broken, and after another 521 years, those bonds are cut in half again, and so on.",
"Maybe i don't understand the question, but we totally do that already. Zoos use a thing called studbooks to track the genetics of captive animals in an effort to make the most out of breeding-release programs."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
5pl4gz | why does ice on tile flooring melt substantially faster versus being on carpet? | Have a four legged buddy who loves to eat ice cubes and leaves them laying around sometimes. My kitchen has tile and the ice melts within minutes. Other times he leaves them on the carpet. I've picked some up after at least 2 hours and it seems minimally smaller. I'm sure it has a big thing to due with surface contact but why such a big difference? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5pl4gz/eli5_why_does_ice_on_tile_flooring_melt/ | {
"a_id": [
"dcrywhk",
"dcrywkh"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"Carpet is an *insulator,* which means heat flows through it very slowly. Tile is a very poor insulator -- heat flows right through it fairly quickly.",
"Ceramic tile has a much higher thermal conductivity than carpet. This allows heat from the tile to transfer more quickly to the ice, and thus melt it faster. Carpet is essentially an insulator by comparison. \n\nIf you're wondering about the relative thermal conductivity of other surfaces, then just touch them. The cooler they feel, the higher their thermal conduction. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
4x279p | sidechaining in electronic music | I'm currently learning about electronic music production and all the fancy things behind it. However, despite all the explanations about side chaining I cannot seem to get my head around it. What is it? What does it do to a track? What do I do to setup side chaining? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4x279p/eli5_sidechaining_in_electronic_music/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6bsgib",
"d6bu12h"
],
"score": [
12,
8
],
"text": [
"I think you may be talking about Side Chain compression? If then, read on. Side Chain Compression is when a certain channel triggers another channel to compress. For example, if a producer is making a track with a heavy 808 bassline but also wants to add a kick without making it sound muddy and flat, he/she may want to side chain compress the 808s and the kick, so that when the kick hits, the 808 is compressed for a short time, making the kick stand out and \"punch\" more. As to how to set it up, I don't know what DAW you are using, so I can't help there. ",
"It's best to hear it with an example!\n\n_URL_0_\n\nIt's divided into three parts. The first part has no compression, the second part compresses the *shit* out of the tone, and in the third part I mute the drums.\n\nSpecifically, I compress the tone with a sidechain of the drums. That means that, whenever the drums play, the tone will \"duck\" out of the way and make room for the drums.\n\nIn music, you can use this to avoid clipping! In this example I made the tone and the drums really loud, and when I play them at the same time I get that awful grinding noise. To combat this, you can compress the tone so that the drum has some space to work with. _URL_1_\n\nThere's other uses too, I've seen podcasters, streamers, and Let's Players compress the game audio with a sidechain of their voice, so that the game audio ducks out of the way when they're speaking, and they can be heard more clearly."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://vocaroo.com/i/s1HZqyKhedHP",
"http://vocaroo.com/i/s1uSoqh0mSWw"
]
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.