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How hard is it to create a software that zooms in on pictures without loosing to much information?
Imagine you made a painting out of little colored plastic squares . To zoom in on the picture would be just getting closer to it. Would you see more detail? No, the individual squares would just be bigger and easier to distinguish from each other. There is no more information to gain by looking closer.For single images the best we can do is a '[good guess]' at information that is not in the original image. The results can be visually quite good, but you can't be sure they accurately represent details smaller than a pixel in the original image. Sometimes the guesses are wrong. If you have multiple frames of slightly different images the you have more information to work with and you can resolve more detail. _URL_0_
Why does ice that has melted taste different than regular tap water?
First, when water freezes, some of the gases are released, so the unfrozen water is not as aerated. Second, when water is frozen in many refrigerates, the oders in the fridge are taken into the water. Some folks put an open box of sodium bicarbonate to absorb odors, but this may not be as common as when I was five. Are you crazy? I'm afraid I'm not qualified to judge that.
Why do some sporting events start at odd times like 7:05 or like the Final Four games at 5:09, 7:54, etc rather than simply 7:00 or 5:00?
It works better for TV. Practically all TV is run on schedules of starting at the top of the hour or the bottom. For a sporting event, they want to have an introduction before the event starts. Sometimes they broadcast the singing of the anthems etc. they surely want to get some advertising in. They wouldn’t have time if the game started right on the hourSome of this might be related to Turner Broadcasting . Back when Ted Turner founded "the Superstation" in the 70s or 80s, he purposely had programs on his channel start at five minutes after , for many reasons. One was that if you were channel surfing, you may have missed the first few minutes of one program, but you could catch the start of a TBS show.Also, it kinda kept you hooked, because if you started a show on TBS and didn't like it, you had already missed MORE of the show on another network. I don't know if TNT has kept this process up through the years, though.Actually it's typical for ball games to start after the hour because network news on the radio was at the top.
Can bacteria (and other microorganisms) be too fat or too thin?
I'm sure a biologist can weigh in here and inform you on this subject much better than myself but the process of an organism becoming overweight, at least as defined in mammals, involves the deposit of excess adipose tissue, or fat. From some quick research, this capability also exists in many lower organisms, particularly worms. Insects have fat deposits as energy stores and the larvae of various species of insect become fat before developing into adults, with an organ called the fat body surrounding them both as a protective layer and an energy store. The fully mature adults are generally protected by a layer of chitin instead. Even if insects and other lower organisms are capable of building up excess fat deposits , I imagine their consumption of food is generally instinctive and the urge to over-eat like humans and some other mammals doesn't arise. Interestingly, I found [this article] where worms were exposed to a huge array of chemicals, some of which caused them to become fatter or thinner. Note that these chemicals are not consumed by the worms as food, but alter enyzmatic processes involved in their metabolism. Studies like this can be used to understand more about human metabolism too as the biochemical processes that occur in even these simple organisms are similar to those occurring in humans. As for single-celled organisms like bacteria, they contain 'fats' in the form of lipid bilayers which make up the cell membrane and other cellular structures but if a bacterium were to build up excess amounts of these lipids it would probably just die. Disclaimer: I don't actually know anything about this topic but your question got me interested and I decided to do some quick research. I'd be interested to hear from others who are more qualified.
why don't we have a picture of our face on credit card?
I used to have a debit card back in the late 90s that had my picture on it. I don't know why they stopped doing it but they did do it at one time. It could be people didn't want their picture on the card or maybe the banks didn't want the extra expense.Because all credit cards are premade with half the numbers as blanks. When you order a card, they run it through a scanner and the remaining numbers has to be pressed on along with your info on the black strip. To attach a photo would mean that each card be made individually and thus drastically increase the cost and decrease the efficiency in which they are delivered.You have to consider who would it benefit to add pictures and how much would it benefit? For the card holder you are not responsible for fraudulant charges. So if someone got a hold of your card you just report it and a rep will go through the recent transactions with you. Anything you didn't charge isn't your problem the Credit Card company takes care of it. So there really is no advantage to the end user. For the Credit Card company it would reduce fraud but at thte same time it adds a lot of expense custum printing cards with each persons face on them. As well it adds hassle to the end user that may discourage them from using thier cards as much. So the bennefit of less fraud isn't worth the extra cost and potential declined usage. As well the average cashier at Target doesn't care enough to properly check pictures.
How exactly do designer babies work?
DNA is a series of molecules strung together, somewhat like how letters are strung together to form words. With those words you can write a screenplay. Eventually the screenplay is turned into a movie. If you don't like part of the screenplay, you can take those words out and put different words in it's place. If that's too hard, you might look at a different screenplay and never make the first one into a movie. Here, AGTC are the letters, words are a string of nucleotides that are the instructions to form a protein, a whole sequence of DNA is a screenplay, and a person is the resulting movie. What people would like to be able to do is switch out a couple of words, so instead of a brunette you get a blond, or you get a tall person, or whatever. That is beyond our technology now, so instead they're looking at fertilized eggs and trying to figure out which ones are blond and which ones are brunette, so the parents can pick which eggs are implanted. It's still very imprecise.
Is picking and eating the contents of your nostril genetic? Also, is there a reason "we" do this?
I suspect this behavior is quite common, and that it's similar to when animals lick to groom themselves. Eating boogers could provide information as to whether one is sick, or perhaps help avoid leaving that information for predators.
How can Penn Jillette and Kevin Smith lose more than 1 pound a day if most advice is that only 1-2 lbs a week can be safely lost?
Not a physician here but I think one variable to consider into the equation is the amount of weight to lose until you reach your "healthy" weight. If you're 300 pounds and do even just a small change to your lifestyle you can easily crush that 2 pounds per week . Also, this amount of fat lost is proportionally much smaller than for a person half that weight.They have enough money to hire professional trainers and diet planners and also see a doctor to make sure they are being safe. Penn actually wrote a book about how he did it. He basically ate nothing but plain ass potatoes. And he also says if you take medical advice from a Las Vegas Magician you are a idiot. _URL_0_ Here's a video of him discussing it. Also if you are already fat you can lose weight faster. Can't remember where it was but I read humans can survive surprisingly long on just their body fat if they receive the vitamins and other nutrients they need through other means.
Why does the last half of a tank of gas never last as long as the first half?
Most car's I 've had don't accurately measure the "true" last half. The level sender measures depth only, but the shape of the tank changes. Also I 've noticed that if you check the manual for the tank capacity and the amount required for a fill, you can't fit that much. Even when the dash computer in my last two cars indicated 0 miles left to go I always seemed to have 1.5 to 2 gallons left based on the amount it too to fill the tank subtracted from the total capacity.I've noticed in my car that the gas gauge is deliberately conservative. It stays on Full until the tank is about 80%, and hits empty while the tank still has about 10%. Which, is actually kind of nice - stays on Full a long time, and gets me to put in gas before I run out.It lies to you after the first 2/3 of the tank, telling you that there is less than there really is so that you are less likely to run out of gas if you postpone going to the gas station.
how do photos of scenery from r/earthporn and photos from r/spaceporn get these amazing photos that look different from what we see with the naked eye.
Very long exposures allow you to have a very small aperture. The smaller the aperture, the more the depth of field. Long depth of field allows objects near and far from the camera to be in focus at the same time. A deep focus field is one of the things that makes some of these landscape photos fantastic.For the example you gave, exposure is how long the sensor gets exposed to light. The more light, the brighter the dark areas. You don't want to do a long exposure in daylight as it will be basically a white picture. I'm sure there are on Android as well, but if you have an iPhone, there are apps that allow you to adjust the exposure/shutter speed. [Here's a normal example of dealing with your subject in the shadows]. Since it's exposed for longer, it picks up more movement, allowing the ability to take pictures like [this] and [this].
How do we know we 'discovered a new species' when it might just be a deformed reject?
Deformed rejects are rare. Fossils are rare. The chances of getting both at once are practically zero. Also, dinosaurs didn't have humans to take care of them if they were deformed, so the deformed ones didn't tend to last long.
what can the president go to jail for?
The President of the United States of America is in general immune from both criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits, although there are limits to that immunity and some unresolved legal questions. However, the President may be "impeached" by Congress. This is a way for Congress to remove the President from office. It's similar to a trial in some ways, but held by Congress as opposed to by the courts . Once removed from office, the ex-President would no longer have immunity from prosecution for crimes they committed while PresidentHe could, but as president he can pardon himself. It sounds like a huge conflict of interest, but the constitution clearly states the president "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." So he can still be removed from official capacity, but he would not serve any punishment.
Why do our face or ear turns red when we are embarrassed?
I'm not sure anybody knows for certain, but I 've heard that it's essentially an involuntary reflex to show submission. When your face turns red, it's essentially showing "I'm vulnerable, so please don't hurt me". But I'm not totally sure.
How do submarines go underwater and come back up?
They are designed to be buoyant , and they pump in seawater to internal ballast tanks to increase their weight until they start to sink. To rise, they pump the ballast water back out again.Former submariner here. Everyone here is on the right track. The boat is buoyant while the ballast tanks are empty so it floats. When we go to dive, we open valves to allow the air to escape . The Diving Officer visually verifies they open when they are supposed to. The ballast tanks fill up and we're negatively buoyant .we sink .or dive. So, when we're a little but under water, we 'trim' the boat. We adjust water here and there to get close to neutrally buoyant and level while all control surfaces are neutral. It's a fun trick to play on the midwatch when they are trimming the boat. Get some people to go aft and now it's heavier there. They trim the boat and then you go about your normal day. They have to trim it again. :) Not much else to do down there. Edit: Full disclosure, I worked back aft so there are people who can tell you a lot more about it, but that's the basics. Edit 2: The comment about subs being buoyant is technically incorrect. It totally depends on if the ballast tanks are dry or wet.
Is sound physical or chemical?
Sound is energy converted into vibration through air. Technically the physical stimulation of air hitting your eardrum. Therefore, it's a physical thing. All chemicals are physical, but not all physical things are chemical. But here's my question:1. Why would *sound* of all things be chemical?2. In what world are chemicals not physical? TL;DR - Sounds are energy.
Combustible vs. Flammable liquids
Combustible will burn, but you must ignite it with an open flame. Flammable can be ignited by a tiny spark.
how to computers go from 1's and 0's to logic?
You know wires can conduct electricity. To make logic gates you need 1 extra component: a way to interrupt the signal traveling through a wire that also runs on electricity. Let's say you have 2 wires. One wire has a current constantly running through it. The other wire is your input. Sometimes a current runs through the input and sometimes it's dead. It would be great if you had a contraption that would interrupt the current running through another wire. Using this magical device, you could attach it to the 'always on' wire and use the input wire as the input to the contraption. Using the 'always on' wire as your output, you now have a NOT gate. When the input signal is off, the output will be on. When the input turns on, it will block the 'always on' signal and the output will turn off. A NOR gate is also pretty easy to imagine. In case you don't know, a NOR gate transmits a signal when both inputs are off. If one, the other or both inputs are on, no signal is transmitted. To build this gate you use an 'always on' wire and attach two contraptions to the wire. You then connect your inputs to the two contraptions. As long as both inputs are off, the 'always on' signal will be preserved. If either inputs turn on, the signal will be interrupted. So out here in the real world we have a number of these 'contraptions': NMOS/PMOS transistors, vaccume tubes and redstone torches to name a few. These gates can be combined to build complex computing components.
How does an entire country block individual websites?
Simple. The internet is connected by wires. A country can control all the incoming and outgoing wires from their country. With the networking equipment connected to those wires, they can say "don't allow any data to be sent to or from _URL_0_".You go to the ISP that delivers internet service to the people of your nation, and demand that they block access to certain websites or else face imprisonment or worse. It's amazing the things you can do when you have all the guys with guns.
why are we bombing the islamic state with aircrafts and not sending any troops on the ground?
Dead soldiers make for bad PR. Also, locals often will often blame the western devils them for their shitty situation, increasing the risk of a civil insurgency in any regained territory.**Military** They can shoot our troops with AK-47's. They don't really have anything that can shoot down our planes. You need troops when you have something you want to protect or when you want to destroy SOME things in the city block but not others. When you just want to destroy something, planes and bombs work better. **Political** No one likes leaders who get their sons killed.
How is a person's IQ measured?
IQ test scores are normalized, that is ranked on a normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 or 16. Mean is average, while standard deviation is basically a measure of how spread out the values are in a distribution. Your IQ score tells you where in this population you lie. The news story you linked to is low on details. Here is a better one: > Alexis Martin, of Queen Creek, has an IQ higher than 99.9% of other 3-year-olds. _URL_0_ She took an IQ test for small children and scored in excess of 160, comparing that to Einstein's IQ is wrong. Most such kids regress to lower IQs by the time they reach adulthood. IQ tests such as raven matrices don't require introduction to difficult concepts or for that matter any sort of education.
Why do people say "an historical..." instead of "a historical...?"
The rule with "h" is that, if the "h" is silent , you use "an" but if the "h" isn't , you use "a" . Historical is kinda a weird one because it's kinda silent, especially depending on your accent but not as obviously silent as "hour". Neither "an historical" and "a historical" sound quite right, so some people just use "an historical" because it sounds slightly better. I 've definitely heard "a historical" though.
Why is it that heat helps abdominal pains, and sore and knotted muscles but it doesn't help with headaches?
Headaches are not muscle related. Heat, a lot of times helps muscles to contract/relax. Many times, headaches are caused by dehydration, an issue that applying heat would not help at all.
Does water have a taste? If so, what does it taste like? How could you describe it t someone with ageusia (A.K.A. loss of the sense of taste)
Water doesn't have a taste, or I guess I should say, we can't detect the taste of water. I think there are some animals who can. When people describe the taste of water, they are typically describing the taste of things dissolved in the water, mostly minerals.
Why are "bad words" considered bad?
Because in society certain rules are applied in order to keep some sense of peace and routine within the singular culture. this includes things like art, social gatherings, languages, laws etc anything that makes up a society's culture is bound by the taboos an mores of the construct of that particular society. As with all culture and society, evolution and change occur within the population and thus new words are made to describe new situations or older words change meaning to mean something else. Ultimately in today's world "bad words" are considered bad because they evoke malicious or taboo thoughts into the society. It's nothing more than society trying to control language to control behavior.
when we spin around in circles, why does it look like we're going much quicker than we actually are?
Because all forms of rotation are slow at the center and fast at the edge. Your body is at the center, but your eyes see the edge.
What does the Islamic State want?
They want the world to submit to Islam and have their chief as the caliph. Unfortunately, many ISIS fighters are now begging for jail time in their home country because it is not the life they were promised.
What happens if a sports team suffers so many injuries they can't field a team?
What sport? Different sports have different rules regarding the same issueMost large professional sports teams, at least in the US, would just bring in some players from AAA, minor league, etc.
Why it is impossible (or is it?) to describe colors and what that says about language and ourselves.
Language, as in purposely formed sounds coming out of your mouth, is really only useful because of its ability to draw forth memories and combine them in the listener's head. Sounds that you hear only have meaning because your brain connects them to things that has already experienced. Your brain can modify those memories, twist them, break them up, combine them to make things that you haven't yet seen/heard/etc. but it's all still grounded in what you already know. I would imagine that for someone who's always been blind, their mind just hasn't gained a useful context for which to form thoughts about color around. Even if they know some of the words you're using , their brain has never made any connection between those words and colors, because their brain has never perceived colors. You might as well be speaking an unknown foreign language.The concept you're butting into is called qualia. Check it out on wikipedia or whatever and go from there if you're interested. Daniel Dennet has some philosophy of mind articles and books aimed at a lay audience that go more deeply into it. Also go ahead and check out the essay called "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" which is basically about this. Anyway, short simple answer is that yes, there appear to be some things that cannot be known or expressed except by experiencing them. These things appear to make up the subjective experience of consciousness; what it's like to "be you." Some cognitive scientists and philosophers disagree with this, or believe that while qualia may exist, it's not an adequate or useful conceptTaste fits the bill too. It is much harder to accurately show another person what you mean when you want to point out a specific detail in taste or color. We can draw shapes with our hand in the air, it is more "obvious" how they are composed . But how do you convey taste? We have no way to directly compose a taste and share it[Vsauce: Is your red the same as my red?]
How to understand Mathematics if i'm scared of it.
Trust me when I say that anyone can do maths. And I mean ANYONE. You could probably get the crazy lady with a cloudy eye down the street to solve complex calculus, given enough time. No-body is 'naturally good at maths'. Maths simply takes time to learn, no matter how talented you are, the best mathematicians are the ones who practise. Similar to a language, you learn the basics, build and expand. The best way to learn maths would be to get a maths book or online course aimed at your target level, learn the methods to solve certain equation types, and practise them over and over. Truth be told, with maths you don't have to understand what you are doing, you simply have to look at a problem, notice any patterns, and work through it logically with what you have learned, and keep adding to your knowledge as you go. You do not NEED to understand maths You simply need to know what to do and when. Do you think a computer understands what it's working out? Granted it's helpful to really understand it , but not required to be a successful mathematician. Also, There is no reason to calculate fast in maths. Speed is not the objective, achieving the correct outcome is. Also, don't get 'maths' confused with arithmetic, my lecturer doesn't know his times tables past 3, yet can solve mind boggling equations.
Why does music sound louder when I'm drinking alcohol compared to when I'm sober?
Very briefly: alcohol interacts with your neurons in a way that inhibits glutamate secretion. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that binds to excitatory receptors. So, that's why you've most likely heard that alcohol is a depressant; because it inhibits excitatory transmissions in your neurons. Now, it roughly affects all your brain, so your cochlea, which is an structure deep inside your ear which modulates the loudness of sounds, is uncapable of succesfully regulating the transformation of acoustic waves into electrical impulses, so they come out louder than they should. Those electrical impulses then travel to the brain's cortex and give you that auditory sensation. You might also notice that music isn't as clear as when you're sober, and it's basically because of the same phenomenom. Feel free to ask anything if I didn't explain myself very clearly. It's on Guyton's medical physiology textbook, if you'd like to give it a read.
The OJ Simpson Trial.
"If the glove doesn't fit " let this guy get away with it. A good lawyer and terrible police work will get a man out of a lot.
What are water stains made of and how do they form?
liquid water contains dissolved minerals. once the water evaporates, the minerals stay. that's what you see.
how do pilots eject at speeds ⩾ Mach 1
If you're asking how they get out of the plane when they are going so fast, the bottom of the ejector seat has a rocket that launches the pilot out of the aircraft.
Why am I able to crinkle up aluminum foil without immediately burning my hand after it's been in the oven for an extended period of time?
It cools off extremely fast since its so thin. _URL_0_Aluminum foil has limited mass and density, so the amount of heat it can hold and transfer to you is also limited.I'm more interested as to why your hand has been in the oven for an extended period.
How does St Jude hospital continue to operate while remaining free to patients and families?
Heavy donations of not only money, but time from the workers. Alk of the research they do they share freely with anyone who it could help, so people gladly donate.
When will the new US healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, start?
It doesn't have a single start date. Some parts took effect the same year it passed, some didn't start until this year, some don't take effect until 2014.
The current state of the 2012 election race
As far as the Republican primary polls go: Perry is in the lead, despite being a complete idiot. This goes for most of the other candidates, too. Romney is in second place. Palin is in third place, despite not running. Ron Paul is far back, because he has had a few reasonable ideas, and Republicans can't let a slip-up like that slide. Michele Bachmann is losing considerably. Most experts attribute this to the fact that she is a crazybitch. [Source]
what is a horoscope?
Like it was already mentioned, it is about how the constellations of astronomical bodies at our birth influence our life and personalities Leo are rather bullish. Astrology is a pseudoscience. There is no proof that there are actual effects on our lives. However a lot of people believe in this same as with religion . The "trick" with horoscopes is that they are generally written very unspecific specific . This means they write general things which makes it appear to you that the horoscope is true to you. So maybe you read you will have a challenge at work which you will overcome with your innovation. This is very nonspecific but it is highly likely that a lot of people will think after they read this: "Oh yeah that really happened like it was written."', "People believe that based on the Earth's position in the solar system on their birthday, it can determine the type of person they will be, or the fate that they will take. In other words, if I'm born in say, October, I am closer to certain constellations and galactic bodies than someone in May. Or vice versa, they are closer to other celestial bodies. Very little scientific evidence backs it up, but it is a strongly studied and developed culture. Hope this helped a little bit with the astrology side!
Why TV shows and movies can get the rights to show certain video games, but never the actual sounds/ music.
A lot of music, especially, is licensed from someone else for the game. So if they're showing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, they have permission to show the video game. If they want to play the music , then they have to get permission from Powerman 5000 or their agent/record label to play that music.
Why is there one section of the audience at Obama's State of the Union that never stands up or applauds when everyone else does?
There are three groups in the chamber: The democrats - they will rise in support of anything the president says, that they agree with The republicans - they will rise once or twice when Obama is talking about something they agree with The supreme court - they will not rise for most of the speech, so as to remain impartial towards anything that could come before the court.Every time I caught a glimpse of Boehner's face during the SOTU, he seemed to be shaking his head, all flustered like he made a big mistake by inviting Obama over.
The difference between Top and Best comments on Reddit.
There's a lot of statistical math behind it but basically: Top just means the posts that have the highest karma score are at the top. If a post has 100 up and 50 down, basically it has 50 points and will be near the top. However, posts near the top have more visibility, and so they get more votes up and down. If most of the votes are still up, it will get a higher and higher karma score and remain near the top of the Top list. Maybe that post with 100/50 later has 1000/600. Notice that there are more up AND down votes, not everyone agrees that this is a good post. Best treats the votes like a statistical measurement. There is some more complex math going on, but basically the formula looks for posts that are getting MOSTLY upvotes and gives them better standing on the page than posts that get lots of upvotes and lots of downvotes. So a post that has a score of 20/2 looks better than the 100/50 because almost everyone who sees it agrees that it's good. Only 2 people out of 22 thought it was bad, but 50 of the 150 thought the other one was bad. As more people vote on a post, the formula gets a better picture of whether the post is actually good vs. if it just has a lot of votes. This allows a very relevant and straightforward comment that everyone will agree is useful but only had 10 votes to start to creep up on a pun comment that happened right after the post that has 100 votes.
When & how do we develop our sense of humour?
Your sense of humor is particular to the way your mind works, and has a lot to do with how you were socialized.
Why do so many big corporations attempt to look like small companies?
The usual belief is that big corporations are just after profit, because they're too big to have genuine concern for all their customers throughout the entire corporate chain. By trying to look smaller they look more relateable, they look like people not faceless corporate drones.
How does a ground detector work on an ungrounded system?
The electronic type superimposes a signal with reference to ground on the phase conductors, and measures how much signal current flows. The panel meter style creates a high impedance path to ground and measures the current flow. If no ground faults exist it will be zero. As ground faults occur, the current value goes up and so the insulation measurement goes down. The indicating light style is a Wye connected light system that creates a connection to earth at the Wye point. A ground fault on a phase will short out a lamp cause it to go out, and cause the other lamps to brighten as they experience Line voltage not Phase voltage.It sounds like you might be talking about an RCD or RCCB . These work by comparing the current flow on the live and neutral wires. In theory the current flowing in those wires should be more or less the same. If there's a ground fault, that by definition means that there is some current flowing somewhere other than through the neutral connection, there will therefore be an imbalance between the current flow in live and neutral, and it's that that trips the breaker. It doesn't actually need to monitor a ground to know this.
WTF is going on in Chicago?!
> gang-related, drug-related These two. The city is highly de facto segregated by income with poverty concentrated in particular parts of the city generally on the West and South sides. Gang violence has become endemic in these areas and others generally because gangs offer a way to make money and have social standing for young people bereft of other opportunities.> I've seen the news about shootings happening at an incredible rate in Chicago So often you don't even notice anymore. Another day, another tragedy. I remember when the news reported the first day in decades the city didn't have a single murder for 24 hours. NEWS WORTHY! > Are these shootings typically gang-related, drug-related, mass shootings by crazy people . What the heck is happening out there? It's usually drug/gang related. The south side and the west side are astonishingly bad. Which shooting are you talking about? The last one I heard of was a Baptist church in a black neighborhood got shot up after they invited a white supremacist to join them for their service. The outcome isn't even surprising anymore . If it were a crazy person, it might actually make a headline. I don't mean to be cynical, but people get murdered here, and it's just another story told somewhere in the stream of news stories - politics, something about the schools, something cute, murder, weather
Why can pizza delivery drivers have light up signs on their cars, but my after market lights are considered a 'distraction'?
There are strict requirements around how the signs can be set up. Your lights don't meet the requirements set forth in the applicable laws regulating vehicle lighting.
Why does .5 round up?
because 0,1,2,3,4 round down. 5,6,7,8,9 round up. what else you gonna do? it's 1/2 up 1/2 down. makes perfect sense.
Is it ok to "waste" electricity in the winter in most circumstances?
Some of it certainly turns into heat and does warm your house, but for most appliances the effects would likely be barely noticeable if that. And as you note, efficiency is also a concern. Relatively speaking, by and large you'll spend more money to heat your house with equipment not designed for the purposes of heating. So, yes, there's some marginal heat output, but for the most part it probably isn't going to make a big overall difference, and even when it does, you're probably paying a premium for the amount of increase.
Why is finding water on Mars such a big deal to the general public?
Because a scientifically-illiterate mass media took a report of modest scientific interest and sexed it up. NASA kinda egged the deception on by holding a press conference to announce the findings like it was some major, Earth-shaking thing. And I'm *sure* the fact that they're announcing this in the same week that the NASA-boosting film The Martian opens is TOTALLY a coincidence The liquid water flows they have found evidence for are: --Very small. --Very short-lived and seasonal. --Possible only because the water has a very high concentration of perchlorates, which makes them toxic to life as we know it.
What does Power of Attorney mean and what does it stand for?
A Power of Attorney is a document that a person signs giving another person the legal authority to make decisions for her. This is often done by elderly people who foresee that for health/dementia/alzheimers etc reasons won't be able to make decisions for themselves about, for example, healthcare, finances etc. The power of attorney can be as restrictive or as expansive as she chooses. For example: PoA over finances only, PoA over medical decisions only, Conditional PoA: "if I am brain dead then my son has PoA over medical decisions including pulling life support". THIS MUST BE DRAFTED BY AN EXPERIENCED LAWYER and the person who she gives the PoA to has to be someone she knows very well, with a proven track record of looking out after her and who she trusts with her finances, health, everything. source: lawyer
Why does sleep does sleep depravation make you stupid?
> I lose the ability to write grammatically correct sentences. > Why does sleep does sleep I see what you did thereThis is strange. I find that when I am sleep deprived I am more alert, awake, and can think faster.
What's the logical theory behind lock down procedures in public buildings?
They want to control access to areas of the building because ti is easy to end the situation. If everyone is locked in classrooms, the shooter cannot get into them, and they are a lot less people running around so the police can find the person who is causing the issueLocking down prevents the intruder from having easy targets, protects individuals behind locked doors, and saves law enforcement from having to deal with panicked crowds obscuring the intruder.Also, it's a handy way to scare the hell out of children and reinforce their reliance on the state for protection. Just had a domestic violence-related murder-suicide in my town. Husband shoots wife, takes off in his car, shoots himself a few blocks away. They locked down an elementary school nearby anyway, even though the only two people involved were already dead by the time they gave the lockdown order, and none of the action took place within two blocks of the school.
Why do we only learn out multiplications up to 12?
I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in Britain multiplication tables up to 12 used to be taught because pre-decimalisation, our currency was divided into shillings each of which had twelve pennies. Being able to multiply in units of twelve was therefore an essential life skill -- you simply wouldn't have been able to properly know the cost of items in shops without that ability. Since the pound was decimalised in 1971 it's no longer been required, however I suspect British schools still teach multiplication tables up to twelve simply because they always have done.In the UK, up until 1971, money was counted in pounds, shillings and pence, with twelve pennies to the shilling. ~~Metric~~ Imperial measurement uses twelve inches to the foot. For a long time, the twelve times table was a pretty useful thing to know , but few things have ever been counted in groups of fifteen.It's fairly arbitrary, but we stop at twelve mostly because there's a repeatable process at thirteen and above that works better than outright massive memorization, which is a painful process for most people. Figuring out 13 x 13 is four one-digit operations , adding some zeroes at the end, and then adding the result together. That easier for people to do when needed than to memorize the other 9,831 remaining two-digit number multiples that can occur, or even the other 56 raw number pairs that would take you up to the complete set of 15x15.
Why are there 4 bases in DNA?
It just so happened that those particular 4 chemicals fit together in a way that strings of pairs of them can form a double helix that protects the information stored by their orderUsing four bases is a compromise between content fidelity and the amount of information you can store; with only two units , it would require significantly more media to store the same content , and with more units, there is greater chance of content distortion from imprecise coding or erroneous splicing. Four bases is simply the most efficient way of storing the genetic code. Sort of like how oxidative respiration evolved.The 4 bases were established extremely early in the origin of life. Life didn't evolve into having those 4 bases, as far as we know it pretty much started that way. It was more chance than anything, and because it's so integral to how all the information that makes up an organism is stored, it's not really something that evolution can modify very easily, if at all.
What exactly happens when a voice cracks?
There are numerous muscles in one's voice box that control the pitch and tone of one's voice. While you can consciously alter the tone and pitch of your voice, you don't have conscious control over this musculature. Voice cracks occur when the brain hasn't learned to correctly modulate these muscles to produce a consistent tone. This mostly occurs to adolescent boys with rapidly changing vocal structures. Another case where the voice may crack is during extreme emotion, when there is extra tension due to a stressful reaction.Your throat has muscles. These grow in puberty, and it takes time for them to adjust to the change. When sick, these folds are inflamed or otherwise not fully functional. When the brain tries to operate them, they spasm and cause a "crack".
If the "we only use a certain percentage of our brain" myth has been debunked, how come we can't do things like autistic savants?
When I was a kid, I picked up some human calculator tricks, and got pretty good at it. It is about 25% talent, 25% knowing some tricks, and 50% practice, practice, practice. If you have a condition like autism with OCD tendencies, and those tendencies lead you to practice math tricks all the time, you are going to get pretty good at it. And if your condition leads to cognitive deficiencies in other areas that make you appear "stupid", your math ability is going to seem even more impressive.As I understand it, it had to do with artificial limitations our brains place on our thought processes. We would have serious difficulty surviving in the past if we were constantly calculating math, for example, instead of focusing on more immediate dangers and problems. Certain disorders remove these limitations, allowing for the brain to complete extremely complex tasks, but with the downside being am ability to focus on things others consider important . I don't have a link, but studies have been done where a particular logic center of the brain is shocked into paralysis and the subject gains savant-like abilities, which disappear after a short duration, when that part reboots itself.
why is passing out a concern for pilots and not climbers at high altitudes?
Pilots don't require oxygen unless they are flying at an altitude of at least 14000 ft. Most mountains are not 14000 ft above sea level. Climbers who climb the tallest mountains in the world do require supplemental oxygen once they reach a certain altitude.In a plane, you can gain altitude fairly quickly, which means your body doesent have time to acclimatise to the lack of oxygen . Mountain climbing is a much slower accent, so your body gets more used to it. Mountain climbers often carry oxygen if they are at heights where hypoxia is a concern.Because they climb a lot slower than a plane. When a climber becomes aware of the problem he has a chance to correct it. By the time the pilot finds out, he's already pretty high up
What is a W-4?
Essentially, the government requires that your employer collect your income tax on your wages and send that to the government. In order to do that, your employer needs some way to estimate how much you'll pay in taxes. To do **that**, they need information from you about how much you expect to pay in taxes. So you tell your employer if you're married or single, and if you have certain allowances that would be subtracted from your taxable income. You can tell your employer to withhold extra money, if you have special circumstances or if you're working two jobs. Your employer then uses that information to estimate your income taxes, and withholds those funds from your paycheck.
Why does mint or peppermint flavour make water taste colder?
It activates the wrong neurons by lowering their activation threshold. When the cold water touches your tongue, it makes the oversensitive neurons react and flood your brain with incorrect cold signals.
Why do actors often have very dilated pupils while filming?
They're not looking into light, they're looking into a relatively dark area, while being lit. You can actually see that in the picture you posted.
Why don't humans produce the enzyme required to digest cellulose?
Because we instead produce the enzymes and have a digestive system capable of digesting meat. The critters that can eat cellulose generally are full herbivores and can't do that, because their digestive systems are entirely geared around digesting cellulose.We do however these bacteria are located in the caecum area of the intestines. Through evolution with humans needing to digest less cellulose the caecum has reduced in size however it is still there. Herbivores will have a very large caecum and longer intestines as cellulose is much harder to break down thus a longer intestine allows for more time to digest before you shit it out.
Why is it a social convention for females to have long hair and males short?
Long hair on women has always been fashionable, with short styles really only becoming acceptable in the 1920s. Men's styles have changed pretty drastically across cultures and time periods. In ancient Judaic culture, long hair on men was attractive and suggested power, health, and riches; whereas being bald was very unattractive and calling someone a "baldhead" was an insult . However, in the New Testament Paul says that a man having long hair was "shameful," ditto women with short or shaved hair . Ancient Roman men liked short hair, while Ancient Greeks liked to grow their fros. For much of Imperial China's and Japan's histories, long hair was required for men at the royal court. In the Cherokee language, calling a man long-haired was a way to call him handsome, and men of many other tribes wore long styles. Maori and Aboriginals also typically had long hair. In Europe, from medieval times up through the 19th century, long hair was typically worn by the upper classes, while serfs and peasant men kept their hair shorter. In the more modern wars, soldiers were required to keep their hair short to stop the spread of lice. It appears that this fashion really took root after WW1 and has stuck around. Which makes sense, long hair is a pain in the ass to care for. Long hair on men now is seen more as a counter-cultural thing rather than a sign of wealth or class which might explain why it hasn't come back in vogueI heard women grow their hair long as a symbol of fertility. Long hair indicates a long period of good health. \r\rIt's kinda like saying "look I 've been healthy enough to keep up these glorious locks for the last 3 years. Im healthy enough to carry your babies"
Why is water 'harder than concrete' if you fall into it from a great height?
It is not harder, but at high enought speed the effect is the same. You die. Imagine for example what happens when you slowly soak your hand in water, there is no resistance. Slap the water and you will feel the impact. Slap it hard enought and you will feel pain. This happens because when you go slow the water mollecules have enought time to get out of your way. The faster you go the harder you will have to push to make them move faster. Go fast enought and they will really resist it so hard they will feel like a solid to you. Consider that what kills you is not the fall but the sudden stop at the end. Ig you go slow the water will resist you enought to gently stop you but if you go fast enought it will stop you suddently.It isn't, it is a saying, as it might as well be concrete, especially if you don't hit it correctly on impact at great speed. It is known that there is a 98% mortality rate on 250 foot + attempts into non-aerated water, 150 foot on land. It's all about slowing down slowly in this instance, sudden stops kill.
Why do comedians repeat phrases of their jokes/stories every so often while performing on stage?
If the audience is busy laughing, a good comedian will repeat the sentence they were busy laughing at so the audience has a chance to refocus and not miss the end of that sentence or the beginning of the enxy. I've seen some bad comedians that just can't read their audience and they keep going through their routine firing off jokes and when everyone laughs, the next joke falls flat because half the people in the audience didn't even get a chance to hear the preamble. Additionally, repetition can be a rhetorical tool to drive a particular point or create interest or simply to entertain. Or they could be used to repeating themselves for any of the reasons already mentioned even if the specific instance of them repeating themselves actually doesn't fit the criteria but they are just used to doing it anyway.It is known as a callback. A callback will: * make a routine some more thematic and less a collection of unrelated jokes* build rapport with the audience by creating a sense of familiarity* give the audience a pleasing "I see what you did there" feeling when they see how later jokes tied by to earlier ones
What would happen if I hooked myself up to a blood pack?
It would enter in to your bloodstream as long as the blood pack was higher up than your body . This is due to the higher pressure in the pack as opposed to your circulation. You would be adding red blood cells and liquid to your system. The red blood cells would stay in your circulation and increase your Hemoglobin levels. The excess liquid would be sensed by your kidneys immidately and would increase your urine production so that blood pressure was kept equal. In other words you'd keep the cells but quickly dispose of the excess liquid through pee .Yes the blood would go in. Cyclists and other athletes do this sometimes to cheat in competitions because it gives the body more haemoglobin and therefore more oxygen to the cells.
For electric trains, why does the friction from the part on top of the train that contacts the power cables not cause the cables to wear out and need frequent replacement?
The friction does wear metal but contacts on the train's antennas are made of a softer metal and this is the one that wears out. The pads as easily replaceable.
Why is age so important with stringed instruments like the bass and violin?
With the more expensive instruments, they let the wood rest for up to 30 years before even making the instrument. Because the wood keeps on stretching and bulging after it is de-rooted. If you would make an instrument from "fresh" wood, it would lose the quality of the sound overtime. But yes I agree It's also the reputation of the makers. or a unique sound a certain instrument can have that is never found again later onIt is the reputation/quality of the luthiers at the time as well as the wood and other materials.
How we know that some animal's see or hear differently to humans?
You can train animals to find food based on sight and then use that to administer eye tests. For example you can train a dog to find food at the image with horizontal stripes and not at the image with vertical stripes. And then you do a series of tests with different images of stripes where you vary the width of the stripes and the color of the stripes. If the dog first goes to the wrong image then it is likely because it can not see the difference between them.* we can dissect their eyes and ears and see how they work* we can try to train them to select a treat under different colored boxes if they can tell the difference between the colors, they can learn the trick, if they can't, they can't
Why do planes at major airports sometimes take off in the opposite direction than they usually do?
They take off into the wind. If the wind shifts, they take off the other directionIts easier to takeoff into the wind, less fuel needed as the plane can take off at lower speeds. For 1 takeoff its an extremely small gain but all over the world combined this saves billions of $ in fuel and a substansial amount of CO2
Why does Valium act as a stimulant for some people instead of a tranquilizer?
Some are so crippled by anxiety that they can only "let loose" when their nerves have been suppressed and smoothed out by anxiolytics.
Why don't police officers have some type of malpractice insurance like healthcare practitioners do?
Most local governments do have insurance policies for this sort of thing, which is why they are the targets of lawsuits, not the individual officers. I suppose a few high profile lawsuits directed at the officers themselves might change this.
Why is it that after a night of drinking, I can't sleep past 7:30 usually, however the norm seems to be that others "sleep it off"?
With any kind of drug, after the drug leaves your system, for a period of time, you experience an effect that is essentially opposite of what the drug caused With alcohol, a depressant that dulls your senses, the effect is that it makes you extra sensitive to stimulation , your brain works harder, etc. You might recognize this as classic hangover symptoms, and it affects your sleep. A slight sound might wake you, and your overactive brain keeps you from falling asleep. This effect occurs with any type of drug leaving your system, although the symptoms are different-usually the opposite of what the drug does. On top of that, alcohol fucks with your sleep patterns. You cannot enter into as deep of a sleep, and the sleep you get is not as restful. Some people say "Alcohol makes me sleep better", but in reality, while it might help them fall asleep faster, their sleep is not nearly as good. I have the same reaction when I drink. I wake up at the ass-crack of dawn with a hangover and can't fall asleep. It is one of the reasons why I stopped drinking EDIT: Forgot to add dehydration as well. Drinking dehydrates the fuck out of you, and that makes all these symptoms worse.Feels. I wake up super early then can't get back to sleep. Next time when you get up try to sit in the shower for a bit, make some food and take some multivitamins + fish oil then put some calming music on and go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. Personally the music helps me take my mind off trying to go over every detail of the night before hoping I didn't do any stupid shit.
How is it normally cold at a higher elevation (on top of mountains), even though you are closer to the sun?
The sun is over 93 million miles away, going up a few hundred feet is pretty much no closer.Thinner athmosphere. The perfect gas law dictates that **PV = RTN** P = Pressure V = Volume R = A constant not really related to this ELi5, but it basically acts as a unit converter. N = The number of moles of the gas in question T = Temprature. . If we arrange for temperature we find that **T = PV/RN.** now, when you go to higher altitude there will soon be more air under you than above. the less air there is above you the lower air pressure will exist around you at that height. Instead of 1 ATM pushing on you you'll only experience maybe 0.9ATM. If we decrease the pressure, what happens with our equation? well, P goes down, and as such T must also go down. the temperature drops with given altitude because pressure decreases with given altitude and if all other variables are more or less constant then the only logical result is that temperature will drop.
Why is the camera recording quality noticeably worse when the same broadcast is reporting news outside of North America or Europe?
Not every country has the necessary electronic and technological infrastructure to transmit and receive the crisp video and audio that's most easily found in such countries as you named.Europe uses a video standard called PAL. North America uses NTSC; the conversion between the two is what causes the picture quality differencesConversion to and from PAL/NTSC, as well as compression used to transmit live footage across the globe.
Why are some people "morning people" and some "evening people"?
Because your body needs to produces various enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. throughout the day in order to keep you functioning. The timing of their production is pretty important as many of these processes can interfere with each other, or are only needed at certain times like when you are eating, waking up, going to sleep, etc. These processes occur on a roughly 24 hour schedule, which we call the circadian rhythm. However, this being a biological system, nothing is ever precise. This cycle is regulated by the production of certain molecules, and their production is controlled by certain genes. Some people have mutations in those genes that give variations in the production of these regulatory molecules, which in turn produce variations in the circadian rhythm that they control. Therefore you get people who might have a 22-hour circadian cycle for example or a 27 hour one. However because our calendar day is still 24 hours, these people are thrown out of sync with the world around them and have internal schedules of activity that can make them morning or evening people. These things are further screwed up by the fact that many people nowadays have weird shift-work schedules which throws their sleep schedule even more off. On top of that, the circadian regulation is itself controlled to a great degree by your exposure to light . However with the constant degree of illumination many of us live with 24 hours a day our internal clocks are getting even more confused these days. Credentials: BSc in biochemistry, MSc in biology.
What exactly is management consulting?
In short you're correct: a management consultancy does spend a lot of time investigating a company, then makes a number of recommendations to senior staff on how to improve their business. Not all management consultants are equal. The senior consultants and partners spend a lot of time with senior members of the company with which they're working, discussing performance and strategies. Mid-level consultants tend to hold interviews with mid-level managers to understand the company and recognise problems. They may also supervise a team of junior consultants. The junior consultants spend a lot of time typing up notes, fiddling with PowerPoint slides and ordering dinner because they're having to work very late. Depending on ability, performance and luck it takes about 5 years and an MBA to move from junior to senior.
Why do you rarely come across dollar bills with rips in them even though they are really easy to rip?
When banks come across damaged bills, of any denomination, they send them back to the federal reserve, which takes them out of circulation and replaces it with a new bill.
Why can US citizens be fined for having an untidy lawn?
The local government doesn't want people not taking care of their lawn and letting it get overgrown, likely lowering property values for the surrounding houses/community.
- From my 4 year-old: "Why don't numbers end?"
Think of the biggest number you can imagine. Now add 1 to it. You can do this forever. So, the numbers never endThe problem is more "why can we not count to the end of the numbers?" and the reason is that we can always keep counting so we can never get there. So the numbers may or may not end, but we can never get there by counting.If they did end, what would the end look like? It might help if you explain that they don't 'start' either.Numbers aren't things that exist. They are ideas that we made to explain different numbers of things. For example, if you have an idea of how many lollypops you want to eat, then, without numbers you 'd just be saying "I want to have lollypops." and nobody would understand how many. The reason that numbers don't end is simply because it's not in their nature *to* end. They don't have to. If I have a pile of ten million lollypops, and someone adds one to the pile, then saying "There are 10 million lollpops here" wouldn't be correct, and we 'd be lying, because there are 10,000,001. Especially with the idea of time, telling the truth is very important as it allows us to meet at certain times, and do much more. Imagine if a friend said "I'll meet you later." - It's completely useless information without a set number!
How does a bone regenerate when you break it?
It's not that it regenerates. But rather that the cells in your body builds new bones between the existing break and they all fuse together. The downfall is this is enormously taxing on the body to do, and its extremely limited. It also can cause problems as well because its not always on point when growing new bone in the break. It could not make enough causing fragile bones, or it could make too much causing bone spurs. But back more to your question. The cells in your body are capable of identifying what part of your body is missing this could be skin, muscle, and even bone. Given certain conditions, the cells in your body are able to rebuild or transform into those missing parts. The downfall again, is that it is incredibly taxing on the body. And if need be your body will at times decide its better not to rebuild or replace.
Thai food spice levels.
They generally add more Thai chilles to hotter dishes. Fun fact: you can ask for your dishes to be Thai hot at most Thai restaurants, and they will serve it to you as hot as if you were from Thailand. I always do this because spicy foods have little effect on me, but be warned ahead of time that this is *not* for the faint of heart. In Thai hot dishes, you can see the extra chilles floating in your curry.
How do we know what elements and chemical reactions exist inside of the Sun, the planets, and other celestial bodies?
I'll keep this short. Essentially, chemical and nuclear reactions release light, however, its not all the same generic white light. Every reaction has a light signature or spectrum that is often very specific to that reaction, i.e. a certain wavelength of light. For example, if you pass electricity through hydrogen and watch it fluoresce, the wavelength of the resulting light is one of four EXACT varieties, 410.1nm, 434 nm, etc. See those wavelengths in a sun? Lots of hydrogen. See 569.7nm , then you've got oxygen.
How is a company able to force an employee to retire?
"Retire willingly, and we'll give you a generous severance package. Refuse, and we'll fire you and you'll get nothing.Retire or we'll fire you" Retiring is considered a better way to go out because that sounds like your own choice. Getting fired is always negativeYou say "If you show up, we won't let you in. And we won't pay you any more."
What is/what causes that annoying thumping sort of sound that occurs when only one window is opened while driving on the freeway?
This is something called [Resonance]. It works the same way as a whistle, or a flute. It takes many other forms including electrical, light, and mechanical. In this case the wind rushes in through the window and the cabin builds up pressure. Once the pressure reaches a maximum, the air starts rushing out again, deflecting the incoming air, until the pressure reaches a minimum. Then the whole thing starts over. It so happens that the rushing in and rushing out each take a certain amount of time and happen several times a second. This is just sound like any other but it's a very low frequency. It is loud, though loud enough to be annoying and even painful to some people.
Why do we often feel tired after low-energy activities such as sitting on a plane?
Well, that particular example inflicts quite a bit of stress, both emotional , and biological . Driving is another good example, again emotional stresses , and physical .
Why is there a physical pain in your chest when you experience emotional pain i.e. heartbreak?
Emotional stress induced things like muscle tightness, increased heart rate, abnormal stomach activity. There is also an empathy phenomenon that has been observed in mice where pain sensitivity increases when observing someone else who is in pain, so normal sensations of pain are amplified.
How close was America to launching a nuclear attack over the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Our understanding of how close were were has changed a lot since the time of the crisis. It's a fascinating topic and one that I think should be taught much more thoroughly in history. Here are some things to consider: 1. at the time of the crisis the U.S. was blockading Cuba in the hopes of keeping nuclear weapons they believed were in transport to Cuba via ship of even more weapons than were already thought to be on the island. So, at this moment we were considering options and one of them was invasion. 2. The question of the hour was whether a non-nuclear invasion would result in nuclear war and it was thought that Russian protocols for utilization of nuclear weapons operated more or less like ours - the president hits the button. So it was a gamble, but the prevailing wisdom was that there were non-nuclear military options on the table and that both parties could engage in military conflict without the use of nuclear weapons. So contemporary to the events the crisis it was believed that were we to invade cuba - and we were very, very, very close to doing so - that we had only escalated on the path toward a nuclear encounter, not that we'd ensured one. 3. Subsequently in the 90s in documents and in meetings in Cuba with Castro it was revelead that _field commanders_ had tactical nuclear weapons capable of reaching florida and that they had authorization to use them in the event of invasion and that - according to Castro - absolutely would have if invasion had occurred. So with newer information available after the end of the cold war it became apparent that the U.S. strategy to escalate, but shy of nuclear engagement, would have actually resulted in nuclear war and the very likely destruction of the world as we know it. So..this history would suggest that the U.S. was close as we can be assured that we would have retaliated with nuclear weapons had they been launched against Florida.
Why are there so many intelligence leaks from the United States?
A lot of it has to do with how big the intelligence community in the US is. It's not just the CIA, it's also the FBI, NSA, DIA, each military branch with their own intelligence fields, and many others, each with tens of thousands of people. The US typically has three classifications for data - confidential, secret, and top secret. Usually you will need a top secret clearance, and while they are difficult to obtain, hundreds of thousands of people have them . While they review pretty much everything - work, residence, friends, family, income, debt, etc, they aren't perfect. Also, sometimes they even relax the standards if they need someone to get a clearance - this happened to some of the people I knew. tl;dr: US intelligence is a huge field across many independently run organizations, and they need to give hundreds of thousands of clearances. It's nearly impossible to prevent EVERY leak because of this.
How does the olfactory sense work?
Our olfactory senses use specialized cells that bind with certain molecules that are relevant for us. Most notably dangerous chemicals and pheromones. When such a bond takes place, your brain will be notified of the fact that you're detecting something. Which you interpret as smelling a certain scent or even a more subconscious response in the case of pheromones. In the case of poop, your receptors are responding to the presence of hydrogen sulfide.
What would happen if you dropped an ant from the top of the Empire State Building?
Due to gravity, the ant would fall. Depending on a couple of other weather factors, it would land more or less in front of or in the vicinity of the Empire State Building.He'd be just fine. An ant's terminal velocity is about 30x slower than a person's, and it can survive landing at that speed. It'll never fall fast enough in air to die from the impact.
How is damage (in dollars) done by, for example a natural disaster, calculated?
You can literally sum the values of the stuff destroyed. For more advanced estimates you can also add up the lost hours of labour and extra labour and materials required for restoration. You could also estimate into the future how much money a place would make if it were not destroyed. Usually averages or industry standards are used, but It's really down to each individual researcher.
how does being tonedeaf work?
> depending on the degree you're talking about, it's actually a literal brain defect called amusia. one of Oliver Sacks's books is all about the brain and music, and he talks about tone-deafness. basically, the part of your brain that recognizes pitch is missing or damaged. there are even people who can recognize pitch but not timbre, so things as gentle as a piano or oboe can seem harsh and stabbing to them. _URL_0_I think it's just a lack of familiarity with the sounds for most people. I am probably "tone deaf" by some definitions. If you play a random pitch by itself I wouldn't be able to tell what note it was, though I would have a vague idea of it was high or low. However, if you play two pitches next to each other, I can generally tell which is higher or lower, but it would still be difficult to tell which sound is a specific note. I'm trying to learn music but this is a hard obstacle to overcome because I have to learn how to associate a certain pitch with a certain note which my brain doesn't find easy to remember.
Why does WIC not allow white potatoes?
"According to Food Politics\' Marion Nestle, the white potatoes were excluded because the Institute of Medicine observed \'WIC mothers already buy plenty of them.\'" [Source] You don't subsidize and encourage something people are already readily buying.
Do people who do not put on weight but eat a lot of sugar/fat still put their lives in danger? Or does their metabolism regulate it?
Yes. Taking in excess sugar will cause insulin resistance even if you're not obviously getting fat. "Skinny-fat" people, people who look thin but have high body fat percentage, tend to have worse outlooks for obesity-related health problems than regular fat people.
Why is BP being sued years after the oil disaster?
They started getting sued in 2010. Results for a vareity of different lawsuits in different places and for different reasons began getting finished in 2013. This is just another of many lawsuits being settled and decided by the courts.
Do Costco and Sam's Club receipt checkers actually check for anything in that 2 seconds they spend looking at my receipt?
They are only looking for high priced items in your cart or electronics. They see 1 item and find it on receipt then mark it. Its mostly just for show. A theft deterrent.
Why are 'off brand' batteries so much cheaper than on brand? They seem to be about 1/10 the price.
Take a closer look at the cheaper batteries, they usually use a different chemistry. "Heavy Duty" batteries perform worse than Alkaline, and don't last as long, but they are cheaper to produce. Store brand Alkalines will be cheaper than Duracells/Energizers, but still competitively priced. Heavy Duty batteries are the ones that are significantly cheaper. Heavy Duty batteries are good for low use things like smoke detectors and TV remotes, but are a waste of money in higher drain applications like cameras, radios, etc.In some cases two brands are actually the same thing. Many companies have different tiers of products to reach different markets. In order to make these tiers happen they will often release the same product with a different label and worse specs. In the case of batteries, I believe this is the case but instead of worse specifications they simply don't advertise their low tier. Eveready & Energizer are a good example of this. ;tldr - Different brand, same manufacturing line.
Why/how do some TV series with such critical acclaim (e.g. Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones) and high production values have a different writer and/or director for almost every episode?
The head of a TV show is known as a "showrunner" and he/she acts as the creative lead of the entire show. Showrunners function as a combination producer/director/writer for the entire series. There are individual writers to help with specific episodes and individual directors to help with management of the stage directions, but the real creative drive -- *the person that the various writers and directors for the various episodes take their direction from* -- is the show runner. So basically, it doesn't really matter who the particular writer or director for an episode actually is listed in the credits, it is the showrunner that dictates the direction for everything. The showrunner for "Game of Thrones" is [David Benioff] and the showrunner for "Breaking Bad" was [Vince Gilligan].
How can so many countries be in so much national debt? To whom is all that money owed?
'Countries' aren't monolithic entities. Rather, they're comprised of many departments. Departments in the same country can owe money to one another. They can owe money to citizenry, then can owe money to private or public institutions in the same or other country. The majority of United States Debt, for instance, is owed within the United States, whether to private citizens in something like a Treasury Bond, or within the government, such as funds like Social Security.A country can owe money to other countires, and lend money off other countries. A country can also owe money or lend money to private entities such as companies and Banks. And companies within a country can also owe or lend money to other countries and companies. The real confusion is consistency in reporting - when someone says China owes owes the USA xxx they might be talking about the Chinese government owing the American government, or the Chinese government owing money to American based corporations or companies in China owing money.A lot of the debt is in the form of treasury bills and government bonds, so the money is owed to the holders of those, in the future. There are a lot of reasons to take on debt, while saving money in the form of others' debt. Plenty of Americans do this by getting a mortgage while still contributing money to savings and retirement accounts.
What happens in our brains when we realize we've driven miles/minutes and don't even remember consciously driving them?
This happens when your subconscious mind starts handling processes that you normally control consciously. Normally, you're paying attention to the road and staying alert. When you're an experienced driver, you can pass the task of staying between the lines to your subconscious, and stop being alert for hazards. Because you're performing subconsciously, your mind doesn't bother to record these times to memory, so you won't remember more than a hazy idea of driving those minutes/miles. When something snaps you out of the subconscious routine, you realize you haven't been alert for hazards, which is a decidedly unsettling feeling.