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Why does it seem like a large amount of intelligent people are depressed? | Is there any evidence that this is actually true? Maybe highly intelligent depressed people actually recognize that depression is their problem, and less intelligent people just think they're broken and try to solve the problem with booze. |
why hasn't Google fibre just expanded across the U.S. | Infrastructure, it's expensive especially in big market cities like LA compared to smaller cities like Kansas City/Austin. Their main goal is to simply increase competition in these areas for better price/speed. |
Why do great QB's like Geno Smith, Christian Ponder and Vince Young play bad in the NFL even though they were the best in college? | It's a variety of factors. The big one being that professional football involves a playbook with some extremely difficult memorization. Many QB's come in thinking they can get in on raw talent and aren't prepared to learn the playbook and defensive schemes that come with being a pro. These are the best players in the W... |
Why is it only now that Pirate Bay's HQ was raided and the website shut down when it was clear years ago where they were operating/what they were doing was illegal? | Here's a response from on of the people who was involved with running TPB:_URL_0_ Keep in mind no one person speaks for them all, but It seems like they aren't really interested in maintaining the site anymore. The founders of the site never expected or wanted the site to be the one stop shop for piracy. If you're gett... |
Why do many modern sites force you to click through to read something bit by bit? | The worst are those sites that have the top 50 or top 100 whatever, and each one you have to click through it and there's no way of seeing the top 1-10 without clicking through the whole thing. And on top of that, every 5 or so clicks, you click to an ad and have to click again to get out of it. I just close those thin... |
Why, with the NFL being Number 1 in terms of revenue; are superstar players' contracts almost always trumped by that of MLB and the NBA? | The NFL makes so much money *because* it's figured out how to avoid paying wages like that. |
Why are cats scared of cucumbers? | It's because the cats who don't give any shits about cucumbers don't get internet famous, as well. |
How does a fly survive when my giant human sized hand smacks it mid-flight? | I'm n scientist or anything, but I'll put like this: In the case of a 30 foot fall onto concrete, a bug survives, a human breaks, and a horse splashes. |
How can every radio station in a city claim to he the #1 station? | Just make up a thing to be #1 about and then you're golden because you technically are telling the truth - you are stacking the deck in your favor. #1 with teens named Becky. #1 with soccer moms aged 36-37. #1 with grumpy old people that don't listen to radio. |
If I was to replace all of my blood instantaneously with blood of another person, what would happen? | Even with the same blood type the minor antigens and WBCs would be different. The borrowed WBCs would immediately attack your body and your body would eventually attack the minor antigens as well. You'd die of shock pretty quickly. |
Why does it seem like there is almost no Russians on Reddit? | There are plenty of Russians on reddit. They just don't go around advertising their nationality I would guess.They are Putin their time in on 4chan |
Is the speed of light a literal physical speed limit in our universe, or is light simply the fastest thing we have found so far? Is faster-than-light travel speed physically possible? | Light speed is the fastest theoretical speed at which anything could possibly travel. The explanation is a bit beyond ELI5 territory, and you might want to /r/askscience for a more complete understanding. But let's try it here anyway. So, to start I'll remind you that speed is relative. If you're on a train, and you th... |
How do people make torrents to tv shows with no commercials and in such high quality almost immediately after it has aired on tv? | Some shows like the Walking Dead can be downloaded while the show is still airing. You don't even have to wait until it's over. |
How is it that basically every country has a national debt? | Economist here. The premise of your argument is completely false. The net credit balance of the largest countries in the world is zero. _URL_0_ Basically every country is not in debt, and the idea is bullshit stemming from sampling bias. People care to talk about the countries in debt, but never talk about the countrie... |
The "Fiscal Cliff" for us that are totally confused. | Congress negotiated a deal last summer that would have deep cuts in federal budgets should they be unable to come to a more reasonable agreement with regard to spending. These cuts are coinciding with an existing expiration of tax cuts. So we're looking at a HUGE amount of money about to be taken out of an economy that... |
Why didn't the indigenous populations of the Americas spread any disease to the Europeans? Why was the spread of disease so one-sided? | We'll probably never know for sure! One major difference is that Europeans were exposed to a much wider variety of livestock animals, over a much longer period of time, than the peoples in North America. Many diseases hop from livestock to humans. There was also a much greater deal of travel, trade, commerce, and warfa... |
The Elder Scrolls series up until "Skyrim". | I've played Oblivion, and there were really two contrasting parts regarding to the lore. One would be about the past, the other would be about the present. You had the very deep, specific, and historical lore you find in books or gossip/folklore you hear from people when talking about the past. Very rarely would they m... |
How do computer programs work? | This is a question that textbooks can be written to answer. I'd suggest asking something more specific, because I'm guessing my LY5 version is not going to be what you're looking for: Computers are not very smart, but they will do exactly what you tell them. So someone writes a *whole lot* of *very tiny* steps that put... |
What happens to a charger that's plugged into a power outlet but doesn't have a device attached? | Why are most transformers for laptops and electronics bulky, yet a USB plug adaptor is much smaller by comparison? Also, is that USB adaptor plug still drawing power if a device or cable isn't connected to it? What about a cable just hanging out of a USB plug socket? Is that drawing power? |
Could I gain resistance to my nut allergy if I ate small bits of almonds, slowly increasing how much I ate on a routine? | From what I understand eating nuts would INCREASE your allergy over time rather than decrease it. Rather than creating a tolerance to it, it just strengthens your body's reaction to it. |
What's the deal with TTIP? I hear a lot of people saying it's terrible, but is it THAT bad? | okay, you elect some guy who votes for some guy who sits together with some other guys and they agree that some thing is good for basically everybody. They have differences and discuss a lot of things but agree to not tell anybody what they are deciding for everybody. So you are sitting there, you don't know what exact... |
Planets and Orbit. How do planets and objects in space orbit things without one falling towards another? | To use your baseball analogy - you throw the baseball, and it falls towards the ground. We both acknowledge that. The faster you throw it, the further it goes - for instance, you might have it go 50 feet before it hits the ground, but a MLB outfielder may be able to throw it 200 feet before it hits the ground. Now, as ... |
Why do humans crave a happy ending in movies? | Because real life is complicated, bittersweet, often unfulfilling and without resolution. A big part of what people want from stories is a form of fulfillment that they rarely get in life. It's a form of reassurement that everything's going to be okay and turn out alright in the end. |
Why do high schools in the US care so much about sports? Is it like this in other countries? | Down here in Texas, my school's football stadium costs $36 million dollars. The school has a history of being the best school in my city and they intend to keep the status. Our football team produced numerous NFL players and is one of the most prominent teams down in Texas. The football culture down here is crazy, it's... |
What would happen if someone guilty admitted their crime after being found innocent? | Pretty sure double jeopardy only applies to countries where double jeopardy is allowed. Otherwise you'd get re-charged and get a re-trial. ", 'In australia, at least, an amendment proposed that a new trial for the same crime & defendant is possible if there is new and compelling evidence. If someone was to publicly adm... |
How do our bodies know when we've had enough sleep and wake us up? | I worked midnights years ago at a factory for about two years and never got used to it. During that time I was always tired so my body was telling me to sleep but I was working when I should have been sleeping. When work ended I had a hard time sleeping and would sleep for a few short hours before work showing up tired... |
What is the white powder that is on chewing gum for? | It might also be cornstarch, for similar reasons to powdered sugar, with the added benefit that the cornstarch doesn't absorb water and get sticky like powdered sugar sometimes does. |
Why does McDonalds Coke taste better than regular two liters or cans? | I've heard from several people at McDonald's corporate that their add substantially more syrup to their Coke products. I have no idea if that's actually true but I've asked them about it several times. I love Coke.Could also have something to so with the container. Back when i used to drink Soda, I preferred canned cok... |
Why can't people make screenshots vector images? | The problem is that what you display on the screen itself is a bitmap. You can of course convert a bitmap image to a vector image, but that won't get you the information back that you lost when your computer calculated the bitmap in the first place. The fonts displayed on your screen may have been vector fonts at some ... |
Why don't the animals of the Chernobyl Disaster zone die of radiation poisoning? | A few things allow the populations to thrive: 1. Natural selection - Some animals will be more adapted to coping with the radiation, they will be more likely to survive, so more likely to reproduce. Ones that aren't adapted and can't cope will die and not reproduce. This leads to the majority of them having the adaptat... |
Why do fuzzy blankets feel warmer on my skin than smooth blankets? | I think /u/TheAngryJatt is the closest here, but I don't think it's just about simple heat transmission as stated by the others. I suspect that a other factor which makes a blanket quickly feel warm is, in fact, the **reflection** of your body heat. Basically, with an insulator like a fuzzy blanket, you have many small... |
In pics of the moon its is covered in giant crater holes from meteors hitting it, what stops any of these meteors hitting earth and wiping out millions of people??? | Nothing, really. It just hasn't happened recently. You have to remember that since the moon is geologically inactive and also isn't covered in water, impact craters will last longer and be more prominent. But the only thing standing between us and global annihilation is a certain degree of luck, coupled with the fact t... |
if missing someone triggers the same parts of your brain as actual physical pain would pain medication help you feel better? | You've now discovered why people get addicted to heroin", 'Enough codeine will make any pain go away. sometimes foreverYes, pain killers always make you feel better. For about an hour tops unless you have more. Source: Im a junkieRead a quote somewhere of someone asking a sick relative if the pain medication they took ... |
In most European countries, family culture is a massive factor in life, why is it so different in the US? Why do people avoid it and hate it so much? | I think you're over exaggerating a bit. The one major difference is multi generational households aren't very common like they are in some parts of the world, but it's not like Americans are walking around in mass trying to avoid their families all the time. There's a reason the day before Thanksgiving is the biggest t... |
Why don't we have hover craft yet? | The Earth's magnetic field is extremely weak on a local scale. Not enough to lift anything against the force of gravity. |
Why are Emergency Rooms so inefficient? Is there a way to make them see patients faster? | The times I've gone to the ER , I've always been seen immediately. If you're in there needing a few stitches or you've got the flu, you're going to have have to wait - you might be better treated by going to an urgent care clinic or a walk-in clinic. They'll definitely be cheaper than an ER & far more likely to handle ... |
How can top american universities, all of which have computer science departments, still have abysmal web portals and online student services pages? | Not only is computer science not really related at all to good website design, it's not even really software development. As an academic discipline, most of the professors probably care very, very little about how to make websites that consumers really use. Most that I know are much more interested in larger, more theo... |
If MRIs can detect Cancer and early detection is so important then why don't we all go for full body MRI scans every year or so? | Let's focus on adequate asthma care for poor children. MRI's for all after we've got some of the basic shit down |
How far can the human eye see without any "help" (binoculars etcs) | I don't know about humans but this is a good scientific explanation of how far elves can see:_URL_5_ As others have mentioned seeing a light source against a dark background is very different from seeing a person on a hill at a distance. |
why is pink considered a girl's color? | It's completely arbitrary. Pink is a girl's color because everyone's always used it for girls - there's not much more of a reasoning behind it.According to [QI ]pink was associated with baby boys during the 1800s, since it is a "stronger" colour. Pretty interesting! |
Why do a great deal of child stars turn out messed up later in life? | [An Open Secret] being sexually abused for your preteen and teen years can't be fun. Add in constantly being given drugs and alcohol, that's gotta mess kids up. |
I can't donate blood because I was born in the UK over 25 years ago. How do people in UK get blood donations? Are they shipped in from other countries? | Different countries have different rules about blood donation. I had Hepatitis-A when I was 13, and I'm not allowed to ever donate blood in the US for as long as I live, even though that was decades ago. In other countries I'd be allowed to donate blood after a certain amount of time. The US is pretty strict about that... |
How can a comet 6 miles wide wipe out all of humanity? | Have you seen what a cannonball can do to an object? Imagine a cannonball 6 miles wide and traveling much much faster. Doesn't sound good does it? |
How did the different American accents develop from the original British settlers? Did someone just invent a new trend? | Obviously different nationalities contributed to different regional accents But there is a theory that modern North American accents are closer to what was spoken during the Shakespeare era specifically because North Americans typically use hard 'R's while the British accents are typically soft. Since English is a bran... |
why can't jedis use the force to turn off their opponents lightsaber? | Wouldn't your opponent just be able to turn it back on using the force as well?", 'Probbaly the same reason one combatant doesn't just shoot the safety on the other person's gun to the \'on\' position in a gunfight - technically possible with concentration and focus, but probably not the most practical thing to take th... |
In the days of digital currency, what stops a bank from simply saying they have more money than they do? | As was said before me, it's because money must come from somewhere. The question is what prevents them from saying they get 1000$ from account X? The answer is that the owner of account X should check the transactions in his account, and go to the bank and tell them he didn't agree to this transaction, and that it is c... |
How do employers in the US employ illegal aliens without any legal ramifications? | I worked at a place that hired immigrants with only work visas. Meaning they weren't full citizens so they didn't have to pay them minimum wage. Kind of messed up. |
Everyone knows that the peoples indigenous to the Americas were decimated by diseases brought by Europeans. Why didn't the reverse happen? | baa", and "oink". Europeans had many domesticated animals that lived within their homes. Animals that provided warmth, milk and food. All the while providing tons of contact. Great for Europeans, and even better for diseases. Diseases like influenza and smallpox come from mutations that occurred when a disease from cow... |
If credit unions offer better loan rates, better customer service, and generally lower service charges, what's the purpose of using a bank? | That's baloney about atm usage. I am in a credit union. My atm card is good at a huge number of credit union atm machines all over the country as well as 7-11. The credit unions all network together. Also works overseas! |
The difference between a "nocebo" and a "placebo" | Placebo = I believe this is going to help me, and the end result is I *do* get better But that's the effect of my belief, not the thing itself. Nocebo = I believe this is going to harm me, and the end result is I *do* get worse.. Due to my belief. Most common example of nocebo: telling ourself we didn't get enough slee... |
why air feels cooler when it's moving. | Our bodies sweat when we're hot, and moving air helps evaporate the sweat, producing a cool feeling as the heat is wicked away. |
How can my farts smell like food that I've eaten less than 10 minutes ago? | If you eat a regular diet, it could just be a coincidence . You could have a spastic colon. Which one is correct depends on data I don't yet have. |
Why do Republicans and Democrats argue about what happens when the minimum wage is increased? Aren't there real world examples that can be studied to determine the truth? | Also, politically, neither side wants to lose the actual issue. The Republicans and Democrats both gain positive attention from their fans from this issue, so if the issue was solved one way or another then the issue wouldn't exist anymore. Politicians kind of want this issue to exist.No. Every theory attracts opponent... |
Why is flossing good for your heart? | I've never hear that, but my dentist told me that inflamed gums are bad for your body in general. I think he said something about it effecting the immune system to have inflamed gums. |
How did La Manzanilla get a direct hit from a hurricane with 200+ mph winds and yet most building were relatively undamaged? | I have family in a part of mexico that got hit by the hurricane, one big difference that I saw while visiting is that a lot of the buildings were cement and mud type. There were earthquakes practically every night and the building tool them really well. This was a couple years back, and in a more rural part. I don't kn... |
Why is canned dog food labeled as "not fit for human consumption" if it contains standard human-friendly ingredients like chicken, lamb, rice etc? | While the manufacturer will usually try and make sure there's no germs in there, hygiene standards won't be the same as for human foods. If you ate it, you'd most likely be fine but if it upset your stomach, you wouldn't be able to sue. That's the prime reason for the warning.The food safety requirements are much lower... |
Why do altcoins like dogecoin have little real value, while other coins like Bitcoin do? | All money is worth what we say it is, however, What makes money worth something to someone else is how much of it there is, and what you can get for it. In the U.S. you can buy a gallon of milk for $3 in the Uk you can buy the same amount of milk for 1.5 pounds hypothetically. Because this fact stays true for the pound... |
Why is it so hard for law enforcement to locate and bust scam call centers? | Whenever I get a call from a number that's not in my contacts list I let it go to voicemail. It works great. If they leave a message then I know it is important. If not, then it's not important. |
If all wine is just fermented grape juice, how does one winery make a bottle that's worth $1,000 while another winery makes a bottle that's only worth $2? | I'll tell you the honest truth it's all complete bullshit! For the most part they're all really worthless. I make moonshine from a reflux still. I take that alcohol and dilute it down to 50% alcohol. I take that alcohol, charcoal filter it and turn it into double malt scotch. I take that and a $75 25 year old bottle an... |
Why don't Roombas/robot vacuums memorize furniture/take the same route when they clean? Why do many still get "lost" and die on the floor? Don't we have the technology? | Yes we have the technology to memorize the route. It can be applied but the problem is that if the roomba scans the room a few times and misses a spot, then it'll constantly miss that spot from then on, leaving a portion on the room dirty. And if a large object in the room is moved, the roomba has to memorize the new l... |
If reincarnation is based on the recycling of souls, how does it account for population change? | rocks dont have a soul, but animals do. plants is a bit iffy. when there is talk of reincarnating into say a rock, it's not meant that literally. those interpretations are more a cycle of life thing. after you die, you become part of the cycle. bits of your..spirit energy scatter all over, and become part of new things... |
Why was American Pharoah slower than the previous triple crown winner? | there isn't that much improvement if you're at the top .01% already. each race, you're only completing against that years competitors, not against every previous years competitors. so the fact that he was slower than a previous competitor is irrelevant. as far as him not being faster. what you say, is not necessarily t... |
How does the US credit rating that went down from a AAA to AA affect me, the average consumer? | AAA very reliable, will pay you back quickly if you loan them money. AA reliable, will pay you back soon if not immediately And your AA rated government has less cash because they now have to pay more money when they borrow from a bank, even though it's the same amount of money they borrowed last year when they had an ... |
Wierdness of the binomial distribution | Let's say you flip the coin once and get heads. You will have 100% heads and 0% tails, and yet it's no problem because the sample size is so small. Toss the coin again and it doesn't tell you anything either. Nine heads out of ten and it's starting to look weird. A hundred tosses, you can get a lot of tails in there an... |
Why can't we use technology and innovation to break our dependence on oil? | We've developed the technology. We know how to make energy from the sun -- you can go out and buy solar panels on Ebay. You can buy a rechargeable electric car [1]. For applications like jets or space rockets where there are basic physics / engineering reasons that we'll probably never be able to replace fuel with elec... |
Why is the german economy so much more robust than in other EU countries? | Hahaha what makes you think it's more 'robust'? All countries have debt, there is virtually no country without it. Now, what they can being doing is maximizing and spreading the money they get through multiple options and develop them acordingly to the industries they already have set up so they can match their debt by... |
What would happen if I dug a small hole 5m down into soil, and then started digging out a 10m*10m room? Would the soil collapse? Is it legal to do this? | Normally you'd dig the entire hole, reinforce the room & then fill the hole back in. You'd need quite a bit of reinforcement because you're looking at 500m^3 of packed soil on top of your hole and that's *a lot* of weight. 10m down in the dirt, you've also going to have serious problems with groundwater seepage. In som... |
Why is Windows 10 required after Skylake? | Supports and work are two different things. There's a very good chance that 7 and 8.1 will work on Skylake+ processors because 99% of the basic functionality is the same as before Skylake. However, if that small 1% breaks something Microsoft isn't going to bother looking for it and fixing it. This costs them money. And... |
How is Steam able to have such large discounts during sales? | the titles that have the really large discounts always have been available for some time. the people who preorder or who purchased it when it was first available have already gotten it, after that the title starts becoming stale because it will slowly fade out of peoples minds because we're always looking for the next ... |
Why do so many people who emigrate from the Middle East open convenience stores? | The dunkin donuts by me won't franchise to you unless you are originally from Asia family. They assume the whole family will work to keep the store open 24x7. |
Why do cars not have fail-safes that prevent the battery draining to a point where the car won't start? | Lead-acid batteries have not changed in over 80 years. They were chosen because they were cheaper than alternatives. The downsides are that they don't hold a charge as long. It does not matter that much because the car is able to recharge it while running. Now to get to your question. Batteries do not discharge linearl... |
Why do right-wing people want abstinence-only education when it actually increases teen pregnancy? | Because according to that perspective, there's nothing wrong in principle about teen pregnancies - it's looking to prevent pre-marital sex, not pregnancy. |
If we as humans exhale CO2, why do some fires like campfires burn more after we blow on them? | Because we inhale about 20% oxygen and exhale about 15% oxygen. Meaning we aren't using all the oxygen in the air we breath. So we dont exhale pure CO2 edit: not unless we were breathing very stale air. |
How can grass in the garden continue to grow forever, without providing any fertilizer? | They get fertilised, as all plants do. For example by dead leaves and animals. Some however need so much fertiliser nature can't produce it fast enough.There are still cycles in your garden. Rain keeps bringing things, samll animals are still there, underground things happen. |
If tobacco products are so monumentally hazardous to people's health and government-funded research actively investigates how to mitigate it's use and risks, why isn't it just made illegal? | Funny how the government funded research shows that it's bad for you, yet it's legal cuz $. All research shows that marijuana is not nearly as harmful to you, and actually has many medical benefits, yet its illegal but could make tons of $ from taxes.. I guess death / diseases = more $ ?? |
Alaska is known for its prolonged days and nights, what makes this happen? | The latitude of the area causes that to happen. Because it is located closer to the North Pole, it gets more prolonged amounts of day and night during the winter and summer. It's not LY5, but this explains it better than I can._URL_0_ |
What are DJs (like Dead Mau5 or Nero) doing while they're on stage at a live show? | DJ here. At a live show, DJs are responsible for holding the crowd over and assuring smooth transitions from song to song usually using what's called Beatmatching. Beatmatching is essentially transitioning from song to song by having a matched tempo and slowly crossfading one song into the next as the songs are matched... |
What is Social Security, how does it work in the U.S, and why is it deemed unsustainable? | Discussions been pretty good so far but the two most common talking points may not be clear 1) Often times politicians and the media will paint it as a welfare program that costs the government. This is a lie. It's not welfare because the retiree pays into it his/her whole career. By the time he/she turns 65 and goes t... |
Why do most people have such negative feelings towards tickling? | Evolution. You are ticklish on the most important parts of your body. Your sides are where many of your organs live. Your feet are used for transportation. It's built into you to guard these areas so the feeling you feel is a form of panic. |
Generally, there can be different personality traits of dog breeds. Why can't we say there are different personality traits between human breeds/races? | Dogs are bred specifically for that purpose. Humans are not. Different races and cultures are different because of locale and environmental factors. To pin point specific behavioral traits because of race would be incredibly difficult if not impossible because they weren't bred to exemplify that trait. Humans are human... |
How do China and other "enemies of the internet" block their citizens' access to the web? | They don't implement it on every computer. The Chinese government owns the main lines in China. They just filter all the traffic on the main lines. |
What is privatisation and what are the advantages and disadvantages of privatising government run operations? | Privatization means the entity running the business is a non-governmental entity, and therefore motivated by profit, which tends to work better than the government in some respects, but worse in others. Depending on how you lean politically, and depending on what's being privatized, this can be good or bad. Most public... |
why do people generally look more attractive when one half of their face is in shadows? | Contrast makes for a more engaging composition. Dynamic differences between light and dark, or even different colors, can make a familiar shape exciting. It's the same reason people wear face-paint and make-up.Not an educated answer, but this brings to mind the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry dates the chick that looks... |
Why are there worries about micro-organisms from Earth affecting potential micro-organisms from other celestial bodies and vice versa, when they haven't adapted to do so? | As I understand it, if we find microscopic life on say Mars, we want to be as certain as possible that it is is native to Mars. If every probe we send is covered in earth's bacteria, it would be so much harder to know that what we found is extra terrestrial. |
Irrational Numbers - How do we know? | Any terminating decimal can easily be shown to be rational. 0.12345 is equal to 12345/100000 and so on for all decimals with a finite representation. This means that any number with a terminating representation **must** be rational. Now, the proof that any given number is irrational tends to be drawn out and complicate... |
The word "Meta", and "Meta-Game" | A meta-game is not a game within a game. That's a minigame.The example for meta that I like to use is [Historiography], which is the history of history. When you write a history account of how people wrote about a particular historical subject, you are writing a meta-history or historiographical account about that hist... |
How does our brain decide that we like/dislike something? | At its most basic, we like things that help us survive/reproduce, and don't like things that don't help us survive/reproduce. This basic drive can be chemically overridden by things like sugar, drugs, and hamburgers, so you gotta do stuff in moderation and by consulting wise old people. |
Why can people in certain states openly carry handguns, but knives are completely prohibited? | If memory serves, the problem isn't carrying a knife, it's carrying a concealed knife. Just like open carry, you don't need a permit to carry a weapon as long as it's not concealed. It all depends on state law, though. Some places might allow folding knives, but not fixed-blades .Both are legal in many states, with sti... |
Why does the American government classify groups like ISIS as a "terrorist organization" and how do the Mexican cartels not fit into that billet? | The US definition of terrorism involves a political motivation for the violence, so although the cartels might do things similar to what a terrorist organization might do, they're not terrorists because they're doing it for money or their business rather than acting for or against some government or political entity. |
How is a degree from a place like Harvard or Yale any different from a degree in the same subject from somewhere else? | A degree from Oxford or Cambridge in the UK is just quite often better than one from elsewhere. This is because the students are brighter and more diligent and so they they can be taught more and examined more harshly, therefore leading to a deeper understanding and a better education. Alongside this there are many thi... |
Why does it seem like guerrilla warfare is the only type of warfare nowadays? | As others have said, it's an artifact of the War on Terror. When the US and coalition forces fought the 1st Gulf War, it was a proper war against a legitimate nation state . The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were against non-state actors, i.e., insurgents. Classifying these combatants, determining rules of engagement, a... |
Bail. Why is it acceptable that people can pay to leave jail before sentencing. Isn't that an opportunity to run for it? | If you are referring to those allowed to continue bail after being found guilty but prior to sentencing then it's a judgement call by the court. If they do not think the person is a flight risk they will sometimes give them time to get their affairs in order. |
In ancient times when armies of 20,000+ would march/sail into battle how could they possibly afford to feed that many men for that long. | Another aspect not mentioned yet was rationing. It was in everyone's self interest to make sure they weren't gorging on food or supplies that might save their life if they made it last.First of all, such large armies were uncommon. As for supplies, they mostly plundered or procured on their own territoryThey took what ... |
Why would ISIS kidnap North Koreans? | They probably didn't know or care who they were at the time it happened, but I want to note that this: > North Korea hates the US and the West as much as ISIS does is not a factor for ISIS. North Korea is a close friend and ally to the current Syrian government and does not want to see any rebel group overthrow it. Thi... |
How are coding programs coded? | Modern compiler developers often use a process called 'bootstrapping' to allow the compiler to be writen in it's own language. For example, if you've designed a new language, let's call it 'Look', and you want to write a compiler for Look, then you can of course write that compiler in another language , but often it wo... |
How do Muslim women bear the heat of wearing a hijab or a burqa? | It's actually very practical clothing, men in those areas also traditionally wear things that aren't all that different with the same full body dress and head covering. It only really got the controlling women/oppressive stuff added in when you started moving away from the areas it developed in and stopped being so pra... |
Why do pianos lack a black key for E# and B#? | Our music system puts 12 semitones into an octave. That way, every scale must have 5 whole steps and 2 half-steps. The fact that they're between 3-4 and 7-8 for major scales is just what sounds nice to us.Alternate systems have been proposed, but have never gained acceptance. [Jankó keyboard] |
How come when you speed up sound it comes out really squeaky, but when you slow it down, it sounds very deep? | Sound is air waves hitting our ears. when we take a recorded sound and slow it down, the main way we do this is by 'stretching out' the wave. Longer 'waves' have a lower pitch, and shorter waves have a higher pitch. so the shift in pitch is actually a product of how sound is recorded and shifted. It is also possible to... |
Why do we capitalize "I" when we write in the first person singular. Why is a lower case "i" not acceptable? | It sounds incredibly childish, but in primary school in the UK I was taught that 'i' couldn't stand on it's own, because it would topple over if it didn't have a letter after it. That's why we capitalise it when it's on it's own, and change it to a 'y' when it's on the end of a word. If this isn't the most literal ELI5... |
Why do governments choose to privatise and outsources public services? | Privatization does several things : Firstly, the government gets a big jolt of cash that it can use to please voters in the immediate term. They can use the money to quickly fix or implement changes that would ordinarily need funding. Secondly, they can get out of union contracts and other expensive work rules. Often i... |
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