query stringlengths 8 249 | answer stringlengths 45 7.8k |
|---|---|
Given how selfies have become so popular, why aren't phone manufacturers making phones with front cameras as powerful as their back cameras? | To a certain extent they are making front-facing cameras more powerful:[The HTC One ] and the [Nokia Lumia 735] both came out with a 5MP FFC last year. The HTC's main camera was only 4MP, and the Lumia's FFC had quite a wide-angle lens. Naturally the main cameras had other features, but these phones are obviously a res... |
How do trees in cities get water when the ground surrounding them is covered by concrete for miles around? | Concrete is porous. A puddle may sit on top of concrete but there's a lot more going on than you can see. Source: I am a decorative concrete finisher. Fun bonus: permeable concrete allow water to flow through it. There is also translucent concrete. |
Why do companies allow piracy to varying degrees? Why do they tolerate being ripped off? | There's 2 ways to fight it. 1. Sue all the pirates, which is expensive. And even if you're legally right, the image of a corporation suing individuals, especially kids or their parents, can be bad PR. 2. Make your product hard to pirate. This is a little less expensive, but it can also make your product harder to use, ... |
How does being poor cause failure in school? | I assume you mean in the US. 2 reasons 1. Kids growing up in poor homes don't have the same resources richer kids do. They can't get tutors, have worse school supplies, less time for school work because they probably have to have a job etc. 2. In the US public schools are funded by property taxes. So poorer areas with ... |
Why do baby car seats expire after 5 years? | So you don't give it to a friend or relative later when your kid grows up. Planned obsolescence. Also a good way to avoid many legal troubles after accidents, if it was older than 5 years. |
Why do so many things seem to be subject to the Iron Triangle ((Good, Fast, Cheap), pick two)? | There are but a few exceptions to this. Gold-plated anything is not necessarily better than its counterparts. It is just worth more. For example, a gold plated computer is not necessarily faster or more powerful than a home-built one, but it's still more expensive. |
Why don't people use emojis on reddit? | Also, a lot of people think they look dumb or immature. In a lot of circles on the web, emojis or emoticons are frowned upon for being less serious. Personally, I use them sometimes, but they have no place in most discussions. They're an IM thing for me. |
How is it that scientists were able to completely eradicate smallpox, but they cant do that with other diseases? | It's not just smallpox. Polio and malaria are well on their way to being eradicated, as well as a number of other less-well-known diseases. _URL_0_ |
Why is it that someone with depression can't just choose to "cheer up"? | Because a certain subset of people with depression has that due to physical differences in the brain. These people can't just choose to cheer up for the same reason you can't just choose not to have a broken leg. Which is not to say that therapy won't involve a process of learning to identify good thoughts and bad thou... |
Explain the science behind how the victims of Pompeii were able to be preserved in a plaster instead of being completely disintegrated. | I think you are thinking that the lava made it all the way to them, the lava didn't really make it that far it was all the ash that buried them |
why are a lot of the designs from 50s so good and considered timeless? | Baby Boomer nostalgia. This is the shit they grew up with & they're the ones *still* setting the standards for American popular culture. |
How do people afford the lifestyle of an extreme adventure enthusiast? | I'm one of those travelers, the answer is be willing to live really really poor. I live in an attic crawlspace in a house of 8 people. i can't stand up and i have a window the size of a shoebox, but i can leave whenever and only pay rent when i am here. Finding a job that lets you leave is the hardest. it took me years... |
What's going on when i get the pins and needles feeling in my hands and/or feet? | If you don't find the answer you seek you might find what you are looking for in one of the other threads with a similar question: _URL_6_ _URL_0_ _URL_1_ _URL_3_ _URL_11_ _URL_6_ _URL_7_ _URL_4_ _URL_8_ _URL_2_ _URL_10_ _URL_5_ _URL_9_ |
While swimming in the ocean I noticed that when a wave comes, many people will raise their arms up so they don't get wet, even though they already are. Why is this? | I don't think it's as much getting wet as it is maintaining balance. As the wave hits, it pulls on anything in the water. So if your hands are in the water, they may be pulled along with the wave, offsetting the balance of your upper body. |
Why do so many people think that evolution and God are mutually exclusive? | It depends which story line of god you are talking about. Some of them are in direct contradiction with evolution. For example, if you believe that the first human was Adam, and that he was created directly from the dust of the ground, and the first woman, Eve, was created directly from his rib, then you probably would... |
Why do girls/women scream so much in comparison to boys/men? | Because back in evolutionary time a female screaming might have actually helped, which a male screaming would have produced less help. So over time males evolved to scream less, because it didn't do any good, and females evolved a high-pitched screech because a male who wanted to mate might on the off chance help her a... |
Why do news stations not turn off candidates' microphones if they don't want them to talk over each other or go over time limits at debates? | In the vein of ELI5, the presidential debates are run as if the schoolyard bullies got together and decided on the rules in the classroom. The teacher has no authority. As some other have pointed out, these performances are not properly speaking a debate. A proper debate is one where a topic is posed to the candidates,... |
If penny's hold 1.7¢ of copper how come I don't hear about people melting and reselling the copper? | Defacing money is very illegal. It's not usually a big deal if you're a kid, or you burn a dollar or something, but collecting tons of pennies to melt is definitely going to get you busted. And it'd leave an obvious trail. Where are you going to get these pennies? Where are you going to sell them? How are you going to ... |
ARM (RISC Architecture) vs. x86-64 (CISC Architecture) | While some might debate how much ARM processors live up to the RISC ideals, here is a brief RISC vs CISC understanding. For a computer to be able to perform any calculation, it must be able to perform a minimum number of actions such as 'read from this memory spaceadd these numbers together' and the like. If you have t... |
Why do we not feel our eyeballs rubbing against our eyelids? | Even if we did, our mind would filter it anyway. Kinda like how your nose is constantly in your field of vision but you don't realize it because your mind filters it out. |
Why is North Korea still allowed to exist and operate as it does? Why hasn't anyone done anything?! | Because deaths in North Korea are seen as better than deaths in North and South Korea as well as deaths of soldiers from other countries. It would have been resolved in 1952 had it not been for China's close alliance with North Korea. Today aggression toward North Korea could still be seen as aggression toward China, a... |
If I swat at a mosquito and miss, will it remember/fear me? Or does it just dodge on instinct and go back to its usual buzzing around/hunting? | It's worse. The ones you swat are the dumb, slow ones. You are eliminating them from the gene pool. That leaves only the smart, quick ones to go on to breed. |
Why, after nearly 85 years of knowing it existed--approximately 35 of them with the technology to do so--do we have no good photos of Pluto? | Copy pasted: Imaging resolution is essentially solely concerned with apparent size. Other than that, it's just a question of how long you're willing to point your telescope at a single patch of sky. Two things determine the apparent size of an object: it's actual, physical size, and it's distance from us; see [here]. M... |
When getting multiple vaccines at once, why aren't they all combined into one syringe? | I am not a doctor, so I couldn't confidently tell you any medical reason why this is bad, but I can still think of others. First of all, if you combined vaccines, you would end up with a bunch of combinations. So, instead of mass producing the individual vaccines, they would have to mass produce all the possible combin... |
How come pictures of objects in space never include vibrant stars? | The earth is soo bright in this picture that the stars don't show. The filter just can't pick it up. Kind of like this image here:_URL_2_ |
How come 4chan (specifically) has that much effect on modern day internet? | Part of it is that it's larger than you'd expect. Lotta people posting regularly or semi-regularly. Enough that a subculture starts to form, with its own in-jokes, references and terminology. Sooner or later that bleeds out into the rest of the net. |
why are we so careful to not spread earth microbes in space? Would it be so bad to plant life? | To add to what rodariskol said, one of the most fascinating things about alien life is that, well, literally every single thing on the entire planet is related. If you go back 4 billion years, we're all descended from the same basic single celled life forms. But that's not true of life on another planet. Any life, even... |
If church attendence is declining so fast why are there still churches everywhere? | From what I understand, Churches are closing at a rapid rate. Tons of churches nationwide are closing their doors due to lack of funds, lack of interest, or both. That's what I have been told though. |
Why is there such a bias for introverts? | Many introverts are also shy and the bias is against shy people, not introverted people . Maybe they are shy because they are unsure about something about conversation. Contrary to popular belief, sociability and charisma is something that can be learned, not necessarily something that you have to be born with. There i... |
Wouldn't it be very easy for someone working at one of those restaurants inside airport terminals to hand a passenger a sharp knife to bring on a plane? What is there to prevent it? | Of course they could. And really, this illustrates the utter stupidity of our current situation. I am not saying we should take no precautions at all, but what I am saying is that the best way of combating terror is to not be terrified. You're never going to be safe, anywhere. We read millions of emails, tap cellphones... |
Why do hotels put a Bible in every room? | I'm from the UK. I've travelled all over the UK, Europe, and east Asia and I've never seen a bible in a hotel room. Is it an american thing?", 'Ok I have heard of the Gideons and this whole story about why bibles are in hotel rooms. I don't understand the statement "the hotels don't place them. They are placed there by... |
Why can't Hospitals simply tell us the prices of things, like a construction contractor could? | Because it's hard to see what's ultimately going to be required. If your contractor gives you a bid for a new bathroom, but after they open up he walls they discover your also have rotten floor joists, that's going to raise the cost. Humans are more complex inside than bathrooms, so more can go wrong, and doctors have ... |
Is there any consequence to the increasing number of Illegal Immigrants (Primarily and Specifically, Hispanic) in the United States? | Illegal immigrants are counted towards the state's population. This also affects electoral votes and members in congress. For example, California gets 5 more electoral votes and US representatives because of its illegal population. So if more are increased, they are likely to settle in places near the border , and thos... |
Why aren't things in orbit constantly accelerating? | The answers here are all correct, I feel like it can be made a little bit more intuitive though: Imagine you're shooting a cannonball from a hill. This ball will curve downwards due to gravity and eventuall hit the ground. However what happens if you shoot the cannonball with so much speed, that the earth essentially c... |
Why is the human gestation period so long compared to other animals? Will it ever be shortened? | The human gestation period is significantly *shorter* than some animals. A cow's gestation period can be 9-11 months . An elephant can be 22 months. Rhinos can be 12-16 months. Manatees can be 13 months. Camels, giraffes and walruses are also well over a year. We don't know what evolution will do, so whether it'll shor... |
I live in the UK and see nothing but complaints about the company Comcast. So why do people keep using their services? | Because we're only free until money is involved? Capitalistic monopolies take away our ability to choose the best company or service. Political greed runs the country, and small companies can't afford to line their pockets, so they don't get the opportunity to even try most of the time. |
What’s the point of hiccups? Does it serve a purpose for humans to have them. | So hiccups fall under a type a movement disorder called myoclonus, which is a sudden, brief, uncontrolled muscle contraction. It's basically the same thing as a muscle spasm cause your arm to jerk, but in this case it's your diaphragm. Pretty much everyone at some point experiences these, but, as already mentioned, con... |
In Monopoly why does it feel like people hit certain places more than others? | Certain places are more likely to get visited. The best strategy is to buy all the properties between jail and free parking because there's a lot more occurances to be sent to jail, meaning you're more likely to land on a property between jail and free parking. On the opposite, it actually better to shy away from the f... |
Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, dies. ELI5 discussion about Apartheid, South African politics past and present. | Someone will do a better explanation soon, but I'll just put the gist of it until then. Nelson Mandela fought against Apartheid, a system of government implemented first in South Africa that segregates living quarters amongst other things for blacks, heavily favouring the whites in South Africa. In a way it was like Ji... |
How, while in heavy traffic, the left lane can be at a dead stop while the middle and right lanes are steadily moving. | people feel more comfortable passing/cutting towards the left lane, since they can judge distances better idk, im just guessing. Would be interesting to find out if that's true, and if the the same applies for right-side driving |
When I sleep on my deluxe mattress wrong I get a stiff neck. How did cavemen (and humans before us) sleep on the ground without problems? | I slept on the floor, using only a small pile of blankets as padding for a number of years without any problems. I only stopped when my fiance moved in. Your body gets used to sleeping on firm surfaces & figures out how to put itself 'right'. If there's too much pressure on your hipbone, for example, you just need to r... |
Why can't Iran build a nuclear bomb yet? | Because its Iran. Anything they do, you better believe that someone is watching or listening. I mean look at N.Korea, every nation is watching that place. Sure, NK built a nuclear weapon, but that's all because they are borders with china. On the other hand, Iran is surrounded by countries where The US armed forces are... |
Why do smokers get special treatment at work? | If people are taking smoke breaks, you take a smoke break. Doesn't mean you have to smoke, but fair is fair. |
Why isn't dental and vision just a part of health insurance? | ITT: Americans who seem to think it normal that these things aren't heavily covered. In Australia, dental and optical are covered by medicare .. but not only that, if you *do* have private health insurance then they tend to give extremely good dental and optical cover. For instance I get all of my preventative dental w... |
Why do all women in Bollywood movies/music videos have (what seems like) the same singing voice? | Trust me when I'm saying this: they aren't singing. They are in fact, lip-syncing. I don't know for Hollywood, but it is a fact for Bollywood. |
Is there actually any link between being funny and being at increased likelihood to be depressed. | Apparently, I have read that people who are funny are almost always more intelligent than the average person. So I would be more inclined to believe that intelligence could be the determining factor as to whom suffers from some type of depression.Basically, the smarter you are, the more aware you will be towards the ev... |
Why don't counterfeiters just print smaller bills? | It's risk vs reward. It is just as hard to counterfeit a $20 as it is to fake a $5 -- but you'll need to work four times harder to make a much money with the fiver.I sat here for 5 minuets wondering why they would want to print monopoly sized money. Then I realized you were talking about the value of the bills. I am an... |
Why do we feel satisfaction when things fit perfectly into places? | Just a guess, but we are recognizers of patterns. It's why we see faces in Mars and in [electrical outlets]. I think we feel satisfaction that a pattern has become recognizable when that piece slides perfectly into place. |
An atomic bomb can fit in a briefcase,yet diplomatic pouches are flown into countries without check.What then is nuclear deterrence about? | Nuclear deterrence is precisely why briefcase bombs exist. The major strategy of deterrence involves having so many weapons in so many places that even if you launched and detonated all your bombs, I will have enough bombs launching and detonating inside your country that we both die. So no one tries to kill the other ... |
I've never seen banana seeds. Where do new bananas come from? | It's complicated. There are some banana trees with seeds but they are not comestible and are only kept by biologists and gardeners. I'm not a specialist but I've heard that there is something in the genome of the bananas that explain that they have no seed. There is two types of banana trees or something like that. The... |
What is the appeal of The Simpsons? | 1) Remember, it was *very* innovative at the time. It appealed to everyone, and the whole semi-disfunctional family thing was new to sitcoms at the time. 2) Lots of reasons. It's really hard to keep a show 'fresh' that long in general. A really obvious reason is the writers - during the generally agreed upon prime of t... |
LI5 | Why do you sometimes wake up with an erection? | Its an evolutionary response to keep you from urinating in your sleep. Do you wake up with a boner and really have to pee but have to wait for it to go away? That's why |
If my mother is 5'3, and my father is 5'10, then how am I 6'0? | Genetics is really complicated. It boils down to recessive/dominant genes. Whatever genes you can see in your parents may not be the ones expressed in you. Offspring aren't a direct blend of both parents. It's whichever ones show in them vs what shows in you. |
Why do so many of us hate the sound of our own voice in recordings? | When you speak it causes bones in your ear to vibrate which make you voice sound deeper than it actually is. When you hear a recording you hear your voice as other people hear it, but different to how you've always thought it sounded . It sounds higher pitched than we think it does and so we don't like it. |
what is a credit union an how does it differ from a bank | The explanation that I like to use is this: If a bank is like a grocery store, then the credit union is a co-op. If the bank is an insurance company, the credit union is a mutual. To a bank, you are a customer, a revenue stream. To a credit union, you are a member, part of a club. From a mechanical perspective there is... |
how I can be dead tired the entire 8 hours I'm at work, but the second I punch out, I'm wide awake? | You hate doing what you do. It's boring, it shuts your brain down.Because your brain knows that sleeping makes time to by faster , so since your brain is sick of your job, it wants to sleep. As soon as you're off work, your brain says "oh hey now we can do stuff we both like doing" so it decides to wake up. Want to not... |
Why are glass cutting boards a thing? | Glass boards are for people who don't understand how a knife works.Of my last 20 housemates there were a few I trusted to use my knives, and that's on a wooden board. Only one of them managed to avoid blunting them though. |
MH370 Why would someone commit suicide by crashing a plane and killing 200+ people? | No idea, but it's *nearly* happened before. There was a [FedEx pilot who attempted suicide by DC-10] several years ago. Granted, that's boxes, not people, but he did attempt to murder the Captain, First Officer, and Flight Engineer of the aircraft in order to fly the plane into its smoking hole. He nearly succeeded but... |
How do deaf people learn speech? | Sorry if this isn't the right place to put this OP, but I have a similar question for this. If born deaf and blind, with what language does a person think in? What goes on in their mind? Images or symbols? |
How did women deal with their period in the Middles Ages? | interesting note: in the movie Braveheart, the piece of cloth that his wife gives him is her tampon rag. he's always all smelling it and holding it up to his face. so romantic. |
What would happen to the world population if Bill Gates succeeded in wiping out TB, Malaria, and polio? | On the world population? Not much really. There were about 3 million deaths in 2012 related to these three diseases. . That's less than .04% of the total world population . Plus, the population growth rate of Sub Saharan Africa is 2.5%, so if all the Malaria cases survived the overall effect on global population growth... |
How do women leave pee on Toilet seats? And why do they always criticize guys for doing it when they do it too? | If you lean back too much while sitting the pee hits the side of the bowl and splatters back up onto the toilet seat. Also hovering over the seat. Or if you really really have to pee and can't hold it in long enough and it slips before you sit", 'Walmart always has the nastiest restrooms in my area, at least the ladies... |
how can I picture something so vividly, but be unable to draw it in such detail? | Part of the problem is the fact that the brain lies to you about how much detail you remember about something. For some reason its advantageous to be confident about our perceptions of the world so the brain goes out of its way to convince us that we are imagining things in perfect detail. There have been a bunch of ex... |
Girlfriend says she walks slower than I do by her having shorter legs than I do. Is this correct or an excuse? | She's right. Shorter legs lead to slower walking. If you look at humans who run fast, they tend to have long legs. The longer your legs, the more distance you cover with each step. |
why does the IRS make it so difficult to understand how to file personal taxes? | You're free to go learn all thee 75,000 pages of the tax code, because the government doesn't know which parts apply to your business. Spomeomne might be able to figure it out like an accountant |
Why hasn't the U.S. lowered the drinking age to 18 and what would it take? | To add onto everything that's been covered regarding road funding, I'd also like to include the fact most brains aren't fully developed by 18. The prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that is in charge of rational decision making, takes the longest to develop. For some, it can take as long as 25 years. Alcohol + un... |
Why aren't there stricter physical requirements for police officers? They have to be prepared to chase down and/or apprehend criminals daily, but few seem like they're in good shape. | None of these answers seem to give an answer so I'll explain. To Institute a fitness requirement the agency by law needs to furnish a means to maintain that standard. That means building an area and then buying gym equipment and maintain that equipment. It also means paying overtime for every officer to come and work o... |
Why is Mouth Breathing bad, and the best soloution to fixing it? | Rewording a comment so it's in line with the rules: Speech therapists can help with mouth breathing, as well as any irregularities in eating . They may or may not be able to help with this situation, given the jaw issue, but that's one avenue to explore. |
Why does the hormonal IUD cause menstruation to stop? | The hormonal IUD, and some pill forms of birth control make the body think that it's already pregnant, which stops the queue for menstruation. |
I see snails appear when raining, but where do they come from, and where do they disappear to when it gets sunny? | Salt works on both snails and slugs but don't do it. It kills them in a horrifying and disgusting and what I can only assume is an extremely painful way. There's enough suffering in the world already.I always find them clinging to the underside of pots and leaves or the sheltered edges of the garden beds. Sometimes the... |
Why are people scared to invest in penny stocks? | 1) As far as I know pump and dump schemes are illegal and a lot of regulations have been enacted to stop fraud with penny stocks. 2) If you bought 100 shares at $0.02/share you would be spending $2.00 plus broker fees . Then you have to spend the same amount in broker fees to sell it. Using a $10 broker fee you would h... |
Does birth hurt for other animals as much as it does for humans? | Human babies typically have a head that is too big for the birth canal, while most animals don't. Humans have large brains at birth, yet cannot walk. Most mammals have smaller brains at birth, but are fully functional. Our birth canals can't grow to be big enough for a baby because then bipedal motion isn't possible. I... |
Are there enough resources on earth to get ALL population out of poverty and hunger? | Solid question, as a doctorate student working on this exact domain I'll gladly answer your question; - Hypothetical situation; let's say we redivide all resources on the planet evenly amongst all the inhabitants. Everyone would get the same wage and the same food. We also disregard wars and political situations to sim... |
When launching a rocket into space, why is leaving the atmosphere at an angle more convenient than going straight up the entire way? | The reason they turn is to achieve orbit. See, in order to maintain a steady orbit you don't just need to be pretty high off the ground, you need to be moving horizontally really really really *really* fast. In fact, you need to be moving so fast horizontally that the Earth curves away from you faster than you fall. Th... |
renting, owning, leasing, apartments and houses | While buying a house can build equity and you'll have some tax benefits. It's also more expensive than renting. Higher utility bills because of the bigger space , higher upkeep because you pay for all the maintenance & repairs instead of your landlord, HOA fees, you're paying interest on a 5 digit number for 10+yrs, et... |
What did Hillary Clinton have to do with the Benghazi attack? | According to a dozen or so Republican-led congressional hearings, she was not responsible for any wrongdoing at all about Benghazi . Any troop movements that occurred around the globe were due to budget cuts, and not actionable intelligence. |
What happens to urine and fecal matter after we flush the toilet? | Auntie Mabel answered this on 'Come Outside' When Pippin the dog did a poo in the house, Auntie Mabel flushed it down the toilet then explained the poos magical journey _URL_7_ And heres a more modern explanation of poo for Children _URL_6_", 'The Japanese are light years ahead of everyone in find a better solution to ... |
On what do our eyes focus in pitch dark? | They just relax. Where the focus is will be different depending on how tired you're eyes are and if you're a little near or day sighted |
Why are phone companies allowed to take back unused mobile phone credit at the end of each month? | A better question is why are there still phone carriers?Why don't we just pay for an internet connection and use a device to Skype or what have you? |
What does Depression feel like? | Depression is like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, your constantly sad for no particular reason, and everybody else seems so happy. No matter what others do or say, it can't change the way you feel. You no longer enjoy things you once loved doing, you just can't be bothered with them or anything anymore, ... |
How can the ocean become low on oxygen when water is one part oxygen? | That oxygen isn't available for use, because it is bound up in the water. The oxygen in question is dissolved oxygen saturating the water. Not the oxygen the water is actually partially made of.The oxygen that is part of a water molecule is not usable for respiration. Undersea lifeforms get their oxygen from gas dissol... |
How do illegal immigrants stay in a country for decades without getting caught? | My friends dad is illegal. His mom isn't. He doesn't drive and world at a place that pays all cash. And every bill is under his wifes name.I was here for work, and already had drivers license, mortgage on house, social security, was paying taxes etc. I was here on a work transfer visa, legally for 3 years. Then the wor... |
Why does the "no smoking" light exist in planes? | I'm not that old but I still remember a time where it was legal. If the plane is a bit old you might even still find ashtrays. Moreover, you have private plane where smoking could be allowed ", 'There are also still ashtrays in the bathrooms because they would rather you use the ashtray than the bin full of paper towel... |
The Iowa Caucus and why it is or isn't important? | It is generally used as an eliminator. In a standard year, it is said that there are only 3 tickets out of Iowa. Generally, candidates who do poorly in Iowa drop out of the race. This year, however, it will likely only eliminate one candidate . It will be an indicator of many different things. * There are a lot of peop... |
How to gain weight with a fast/high metabolism? | I've struggled with gaining weight my whole life. I've always been so skinny and no matter how much I work out, it's impossible for me to gain any muscle. I always thought it was because of my fast metabolism, but I'm realizing it's because I'm just not as hungry as most people. I feel like I eat enough in a day, but w... |
What is 4chan and why is it being banned in so many places? Isn't 4chan just like reddit? | 4chan is reddit without the karma filter. If you could post anything you wanted and not have to worry about being downvoted, you'd end up being way more honest. That's the draw of 4chan to a lot of people. |
Why did some ancient civilizations, f.e. the Egyptians, seem to use the same distinct art style for centuries or even millennia? | Egypt was a very top down society. The Pharaoh, as a god, pretty much set the agenda. His word was law. He employed many of the nation's artists to do his bidding in creating tomb art and propaganda for his government. Thus the ability of artists to devise radical new art styles was relatively muted. The Egyptians, wit... |
Are food cravings random or does my body know that it needs something that is contained within the food that I crave? | Psychology major here at the University of British Columbia. Part of my degree was behavioural neuroscience. Some of the answers here don't have enough uncertainty built in to really be correct As I understand it: Hunger is actually still a fairly poorly understood phenomenon. We still don't even know exactly what caus... |
Why is ALL of the climate change so bad? Is there really no part of the world that is likely to benefit? | Good or bad are value judgements. For example, say the melting of the permafrost on the tundras of north America. Maybe that's good for animals that graze on the grasses that grow there. Maybe it's good for the people that live out there. But maybe it's bad for some other animals. Rising sea levels might be good for fi... |
Why is there a specific order for solving maths and how did it come to be that way? | If you didn't have an order, not everyone would do things the same. Anything involving mathematics would suffer because of that. You don't want 3 engineers coming up with different results because each one does the math differently. |
Why do kids seem to have infinite energy and amazing fitness, yet as we get older this deteriorates? | Because adults have responsibilities, they have to manage their energy, and focus it on their job. Kids don't have any responsibilities, playing is actually their job. Ask a kid to train like an elite MMA fighter, let's see who has more energy |
Why wasn't Gay Marriage legal when homosexuals were given rights? | Overall gay rights has been a three steps forward, two steps back process. A lot of advances happened in the 70s, but anti-discrimination laws were usually city or state laws. There isn't a national law that forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. One such law that will focus on employmen... |
Why does alcohol affect people in different ways, when other drugs are fairly consistent? | All drug reactions can be mapped onto a bell curve. Most people react very similarly within certain constraints, while there are always outliers for any chemical we consume.Some people are allergic to penicillin, but most aren't. Xanax, for instance, gives a very consistent reaction because it is concentrated in pill f... |
Did the German citizens who continued to live within Germany during WWII really not know about the genocide that was taking place within and around their borders? | As others have said, one's own survival came first. Also, bear in mind that WWII shaped our current understanding of things like genocide and empire. Fifty years before, European powers killed off millions of Africans during the rush to colonize. It wasn't seen as a problem because it happened way over there where we d... |
why does the "quietest room in the world" drive people crazy? | We have one of these at my university. My experience was that you can't hear anything due to the fact there's absolutely no echo/reverberation, if someone talks you have you face your ear towards them or else it seems like they're talking from 20m away. It's like when you get that feeling from dropping altitude in a pl... |
On Spotify, who gets the money from dead artists? | Their property rights are passed down through their estate. A copyright is good for 70 *years after the artist's death and then becomes public domain. |
It seems like "everyone" is getting cancer. Has is always been this way, like since the dawn of time, or is this something new, or...? | Cancer rates aren't actually rising though. _URL_0_ Detection rates are VASTLY better than decades or a century ago. 2) When smallpox was an issue, cancer made up only 1/20 of deaths. Now smallpox is gone, that same 1/20 is more like 1/3 thus making it seem a greater issue than it really is/was.. the same number of peo... |
Why can't I drink the water when I go abroad? | some countries have lower water-purification standards than the US. you could get sick if you drink their water. natives have either developed a tolerance to the unclean water OR they're just used to it. |
How small does something have to be for the laws of quantum mechanics to affect it, rather than classical mechanics? | It all comes down to the precision that you need. If you want to calculate the movement of a blue whale with the precision that you'd normally only employ for atoms, then you will also have to opt for quantum physics. It's just that you usually need a higher precision for smaller objects, as it is a bigger relative dif... |
The math problem we see Matt Damon's character solving in the scene on university's hallway chalkboard in Good Will Hunting. | He is making homeomorphic, irreducible trees with ten nodes. It's actually not a particularly difficult problem. Here is the simple explanation. These are trees. A tree is made of nodes connected together with something called 'edges', but I will call them lines. Trees have the property that they can't link back on the... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.