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ELI5: What does it mean to an everyday person that we found water on Mars? | This was at the top of /r/all when I got on tonight
[The Curiosity Rover just found water on Mars](http://gizmodo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-just-found-water-in-martian-soil-1403908591) | 28 | It means nothing, really, in the short term. Scientists have known for many years that Mars has ice on it (on the poles) and have guessed for a long time that there was water ice on the ground during the winter. And the Curiosity rover made some confirmatory discoveries in the last year or so with finding particular ... | 21 |
[Fallout] If I tell someone I'm going to sell them 100 head of cattle, how many will they expect me to show up with? | 112 | 50 Brahmin, but honestly I'd be more worried about the fact that you're about to get ambushed like crazy. That kinda herd is gonna draw mad amounts of what ever local vermin and raider variant ya got.
I'd hire some guns for the cattle drive. | 117 | |
Is a degree in philosophy absolutely necessary to be taken seriously as a philosopher? | So this question came from reading this reddit thread after the comments were locked: https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/bez8no/how_is_a_layman_supposed_to_tell_the_difference/
The question that came up was whether or not to call Peterson a philosopher. Some argued that he didn't have an academic backgrou... | 15 | "absolutely necessary"? No. If you have some great idea, philosophers will be interested in hearing it. The problem, of course, is that most people without the background don't have such great ideas that philosophers are unaware of. Do you need a degree in math to be taken seriously as a mathematician? No, of course no... | 40 |
ELI5:how do the chips on credit cards provide extra security? | That is their purpose right, to be more secure than before. Additionally, how come sometimes a pin is not required? Without a pin, anyone can use it. | 18 | Magnetic stripes are easily duplicated. The information on them is unencrypted and the machines to duplicate them quite cheap.
A chip on card is basically a unique encryption key. The reader has an active conversation with the chip to verify the authenticity of the card. Pin not being required has been done largely ... | 16 |
CMV: Implying that breastfeeding promotion shames formula feeding is the equivalent of saying daily exercise and healthy eating promotion shames those who don't do so. | We are allowed to promote and encourage choices that can lead us to live healthier lives. If you choose not to do these things, it is fine, that's your choice to make. This doesn't mean that information regarding these things is an attack on your right to choose whether or not to partake in them. It is allowing other p... | 113 | Like most other promotion, it simply depends on how it's expressed. For example, if your promotion of breastfeeding hinges on the negation of benefits associated with formula feeding/is intertwined with shaming formula feeding as a way to promote breastfeeding as a better option, then it is a approaching formula feedin... | 35 |
[Avatar: Legend of Korra] I’m an Equalist. Amon just took away the bending of the last airbenders and also captured the Avatar. I’m disgusted by his actions. What can I do? | Yes, I made a horrible mistake. I joined the Equalist hoping that we can bring change to the United Republic. I thought that Amon and the Equalists would make our cries louder and that we can have a seat at the big table, making life better for us nonbenders.
But I didn’t sign up to see benders become persecuted at t... | 37 | You made a mistake. A mistake of judgement. Amon and the Equalists were not what you thought they were, and they exploited your trust and naivete to win your support. What they've done is on you, as much as it's on them. If you want to make this right, you've got a lot of work ahead of you.
You should resist Amon and... | 18 |
Explain Like I'm Not a Football Fan: Tim Tebow's career and why it seems to have suddenly soured. | I know the basic *basics* of football, but certainly not enough to really recognize many pro players and I haven't been following the game for years now.
From my perspective, there seemed to be this Tebow guy that was a pretty good quarter back but had a certain religious controversy to him. Nowadays, there seems to ... | 61 | He took his college team to a national championship and won, get won the heisman trophy as a sophomore (both of these are a pretty big deal). Throw in the fact that the gators (his college team) have a huge nation wide fan base, he's very open about being a Christian, and a good win steak (against bad teams) and all th... | 21 |
ELI5: Where does a specific person's "Musical taste" come from? And why do we grow bored of songs? | 42 | Big question, but here is one part of it:
Music is kind of a language, and kind of a game.
It's a language, in that there are a set of sounds that communicate information----you know that the dissonant violins in the Psycho scene scene aren't happy, for example. That's because that's a first grade level of communic... | 18 | |
[Terminator] Do we know exactly how future John Connor defeats Skynet? | 48 | Generally, yes. Before the recent *Genesys* incarnation, it usually involved the Resistance assaulting Skynet's physical central mainframe at Cheyenne Mountain. Certain depictions indicate that Skynet had completely dismantled or converted that mountain as its physical form expanded. | 36 | |
What kind modern day weaponry would be needed to take down a Dragon/Drake/Wyvern? | I work at an Air Force base and one day my girlfriend told me about a nightmare that she had in that a dragon attacked the base. I got to thinking, what kind of modern-day weaponry would be needed to take down a dragon? Feel free to post about various sizes and power levels of dragons and different attack methods (assu... | 52 | Dragon scales are made of Beta-keratin, the same substance avian and reptilian beaks, scales, and claws are made of. The difference is that dragon scales are up to 3-4 inches thick. The scale layout is very efficient at dispersing kinetic energy, making dragon scales extremely effective against pre-modern weapons.
T... | 51 |
CMV: If people don't believe in God, it's His fault. | If God does exist, it seems like He is rather hidden. While some claim to have received revelation, are able to communicate, and know His will, many feel left out of any type of relationship with Him that would make God "real" to them. Moreover, when one observes nature and the larger universe, it is hard to see any im... | 395 | I've seen this discussion plenty of times, most of the time it ends with a circle discussion about how God made his existence seem very incredible because you shouldn't need proof to have faith in him etc etc. | 78 |
ELI5: Why do middlemen exist? | If we, as consumers, can buy directly from the source, why would we pay the markup that a middleman charges? I think this is more relevant today because people can easily sell their merchandise directly by opening up a store online, instead of going through a retailer like Amazon. | 25 | Because running a store takes a lot of work and effort.
Some suppliers do this, but many don't. In a nutshell, they would have to start shouldering responsibilities like inventory management, website management, store front management, shipping orders, customer service (to a larger degree), etc.
By selling to a ... | 32 |
Why could dinosaur's grow to much larger sizes than modern day animals? | The post about the world's largest ancient snake inspired this question. Why are there no animals today that come close to the size of the largest dinosaurs? | 35 | The blue whale, a current living mammal, is the largest animal that has ever lived. It is substantially larger than any dinosaur we know of.
As to the thrust of your question, why are terrestrial animals smaller today (I assume). Well, that question has a lot of suppositions. I've seen everything from increased availa... | 26 |
What lifeform has the shortest genetic sequence? | 941 | It depends.
The organism with the smallest genome for naturally occurring cellular organisms is probably *Mycoplasma genitalium*.
There are synthetic cells that have a smaller genome, but these are lab-made, not free-living.
Then there are viruses; are they life forms ? That’s another debate. If you include viruse... | 832 | |
ELI5: How do some people simply switch off and fall right asleep where others it takes a longer time? | 31 | There are a lot of factors to the body falling asleep. First off its related to natural sleep patterns. If one is more of a night owl then they will have a hard trouble falling asleep at night as they naturally want to be awake at that time. The technical term for this is social jet-lag if you want to search it up.
T... | 15 | |
ELI5: Canadian government | I promise I'm not dumb as shit but I've never been taught or I clearly didn't retain anything about Canadian government. So please explain like I'm 5 how the Canadian government works and whats the difference between liberal, NDP, and Conservative. So that If I'm ever in a situation where I had to talk about it I'm not... | 17 | The head of state of Canada is the Queen of England, although nominally it's the Governor General her appointed representative in Canada. However this position is almost 100% ceremonial.
The higher house is known as the Senate. Intended to be a mirror of the House of Lords in England it's purpose is to be a 'Sober Sec... | 21 |
When a computer screen is cracked at one spot, why does the entire screen no longer work? | From what I've seen, when a computer's LCD screen cracks, all the pixels around the cracks turn completely black while everything else goes completely white. Why does that happen? Under what circumstances will a part of the screen not be effected? | 34 | Pixels turn completely white (transparent) when you switch them off. When your screen cracks a conductor that is wired in series is severed, thus pixels are powered off while background light keeps running. The black blotch is the result of messed up polarizing filter and/or pixels cracking and leaking (thus the name l... | 18 |
[ATLA] Since bending is based on martial arts, would a bender still be a good fighter even without their element? | If they don't have their elements available, would the techniques they've learned be useful in combat, or would they be too used to not actually be in physical contact with their opponent to fight? | 75 | They would know the movements, but they possibly wouldn’t have the strength behind them and knowledge of how to leverage that into actual attacks. Look at how Zuko trained himself not only in firebending but martial skills as well to ensure he could fight without bending. | 98 |
ELI5: How did herbivorous dinosaurs get so large while have so little protein in their diet? | I get that they would have a surplus of vitamins but I don't understand how something as big as the [apatosaurus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatosaurus) could get as big as it is with so little protein. | 23 | Part of what allows Herbivores to grow as large as they do is that the Digestive Systems in Herbivores are optimized for extracting every bit of protein available from the food they eat. Their digestive tracts can also make some proteins from food that lack proteins. A good example is a a cow's Digestive Tract: It has ... | 21 |
Should I Avoid Zizek? | According to some people, Zizek is not a proper philosopher and is rather a "pop" philosopher. Is this true? Is Zizek the equivalent of someone like Sam Harris in the eyes of mainstream philosophy? | 28 | If one takes a proper philosopher to be one who publishes books and articles which engage and innovate upon philosophical theories which are then cited by other philosophers, then Zizek is by all means a "proper philosopher." Zizek is also a "pop" philosopher in dual senses: he engages routinely with the public in non-... | 65 |
World War I and World War II | 24 | If World War 1 was a bar fight
Germany, Austria and Italy are standing together in the middle of a pub when Serbia bumps into Austria and spills Austria’s pint.
Austria demands Serbia buy it a complete new suit because there are splashes on its trouser leg.
Germany expresses its support for Austria’s point of view.
... | 36 | |
CMV: Unskilled labor doesn’t exist | I absolutely hate the notion that jobs that people deem as lower in society are considered unskilled for a multitude of reasons. This is generally one of the largest excuses for why individuals pay should not be raised, however ultimately I think it all comes down to the fact that society survives off of a hierarchy an... | 16 | Unskilled labour means labour that doesn't require much specialist training, qualifications, or education. Not labour that requires nothing that can conceivably be called a skill.
I can agree that maybe it's a poor term in that it implies that some very hard jobs are easy, but for the purposes of employment, you do ne... | 54 |
CMV: a practical way to reduce gun violence is requiring insurance | ***UPDATE:***
*I was convinced by several different commenters that using insurance to enforce safe storage and handling rules is overly complex. If the SCOTUS were to allow my insurance idea, they would probably also allow a simpler scheme like a permitting system where the state or country requires proof of secure ... | 1,477 | A HUGE problem with this is it will ensure only the rich or at least middle/upper middle own guns. As poorer people will be priced out of ownership.
It will almost immediately be called racist/Jim Crow esque.
"You're preventing poor black people from legally owning guns but ensuring rich white people can." (I don't a... | 700 |
ELI5: What is Happening in Your body During a Hangover? | It can't just be dehydration. I've seen hungover people drink water and still look sick. What exactly is "wrong" during a hangover? Thanks! | 97 | Basically alcohol is metabolized by the body by something called zero order kinetics. This is a fancy way of saying the body can only metabolize a certain amount of alcohol per unit time. When alcohol (ethanol, really) is broken down, it is turned into acetaldehyde and then to acetate. Acetaldehyde is what actually cau... | 37 |
Is deductive logic a special case of inductive logic, or is inductive logic a special case of deductive logic? (Or is this entire disjunction false?) | I was reflecting on inductive vs. deductive logic, and I feel like I'm hitting an infinite regress or something and my brain is short-circuiting.
**In favor of deductive being a special case of inductive:**
* Deductive logic is just inductive logic where the probabilities of the premises = 1.
**In favor of inductiv... | 15 | Inductive and deductive arguments are distinct because each is characterized by a distinct relationship between the premises and the conclusion. The premises of a deductive argument *purportedly* entail the conclusion (if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true). The premises of an inductive argument *p... | 15 |
ELI5: When we look into deep space we see the light of stars from deep into the past. Will we, at some point when we can see far enough, be able to “see” the Big Bang? | 19 | We'll never be able to see the Big Bang, but we can already see the next best thing.
First thing to point out is that the Big Bang didn't happen at a specific point in space—it happened *everywhere,* so there's no waiting around for a specific moment when light from the Big Bang finishes crossing the distance between ... | 35 | |
ELI5: How do people on the internet find out another person's identity and address, and how can I avoid this happening to me? | Edit: I mean more in terms of finding IP addresses rather than accidentally revealing personal information. What kind of information does an IP address give somebody? How do people find it and is it a good idea to try to prevent that or does it not really matter? | 16 | Never ever give out information that lets people figure out who you are.
Remember that someone who is obsessed with finding you is going to go through your entire public history. So if in some comment you posted that you were born in Detroit, and in another one a year earlier you posted your birthdate, that really nar... | 14 |
ELI5: Why does Japan drive on the left, even though they have never been a part of the British Empire? | 9,705 | The Japanese are actually kind of...adopted children of the British Empire, in that the Brits were actually a really big influence on the Japanese during the Meiji Restoration and the rapid industrialization of the country. The Brits also were a major ally of the Japanese during their formative Imperial years (particul... | 6,139 | |
ELI5: Some questions about electricity and electrical power. | I know electricity is technically both positively and negatively charged particles, however the electricity that is commonly used, that is the electricity in our power nets, is only electrons, which are negativly charged. Right?
Electricity is difference between positivly charged areas and negativly charged areas, a... | 42 | Electrons have a negative charge. When something is said to have a positive charge, it means that the material is missing electrons from the outer shell of its atoms- or it has electron "holes", which mean that it wants to fill those holes with electrons to reach a neutral charge.
Electricity means the flow of electro... | 12 |
Why don't we always get immunity to diseases that we have had once before? | 19 | Lots of infectious diseases you can get multiple times because different strains exist, or mutate into different strains that is immune to the antibodies that worked on the earlier strain. Also some diseases like the common cold are actually caused by a bunch of different viruses that all prompt the same symptoms. | 15 | |
eli5 How did the telephone in the 1955 Cadillac Westchester work? | ELI5
Knowing cell phones weren't invented tyet, how did the telephone in the 1955 Cadillac Westchester operate? | 15 | It was most likely using something called MTS.
In 1949, a service called "Mobile Telephone Service" (MTS) was launched by the Bell System. It provided a way for a radio to connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
The method was basically to use VHF radio, like a ham radio or CB, to communicate with an... | 23 |
[Blade Runner] How could someone determine if they are a replicant by themselves? | Surely by the end of the film. Deckard must have some suspicions about being a replicant, is there anyway he could find out without getting the test administered?
| 27 | Are you asking "for a friend?"
The following is assuming a Nexus 6 model living freely and independently in the world:
With a properly established personal history and isolated from any outside corroboration, not really.
If you run into other people and notice suspiciously identical personal experiences among you ... | 27 |
[Mortal Kombat] Is death really that big of a deal? | So we've seen sorcery like Quan Chi's and we know Raiden has some sort of say on how he can bring back people but is death really permanent? Could characters like Noob Saibot, Shang Tsung, and others be brought back? | 18 | If the religions are right and you go to heaven / paradise / nirvana when you die, death isn't a big deal at all. Even reincarnation with a chance to advance to one of the above softens death's sting.
But in Mortal Kombat, you aren't guaranteed one of these fates. You might get stuck in purgatory as a shade, sent to h... | 28 |
[Marvel and DC universes] What could cause Wayne Enterprises or Stark Industries to go bankrupt? | Both companies have seemingly limitless amounts of cash. What could possibly cause it all to dry up? | 433 | Wayne Enterprises could, in most circumstances, outright buy most iterations of Stark's companies without much (if any) fuss. Between Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp, the two holding companies make an absurd amount of the GDP of the US - upwards of *half* if some claims are to be believed. Remember that WayneTech is only... | 326 |
[Star Wars] In Legends, they name a ship after the A-Wing pilot who brought down the Super Star Destroyer in the Battle of Endor. How did they know who he was? | 27 | Prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance was a collection of scattered rebel cells that acted primarily independently. Thus, there wasn't much of an organized central command. The destruction of the first Death Star changed things - the Rebel Alliance was now seen as an actual movement that might actually take ... | 35 | |
ELI5: What is economic left and right? I don't understand. | 32 | I am seeing many replies that are only valid if you accept the commenter's definition of "left" and "right". In order to answer this question, we have to first look at what those terms mean. In reality, these terms are extremely versatile and their definitions have changed over time.
First of all, the term "left" an... | 60 | |
ELI5: Why have I heard older conservatives tell younger liberals to wait until they're older, then they'll change their mind? | I'm a college student, technically leaning to the left politically. My dad says wait until I'm older, then I'll change my mind. Something like I have to learn the value of income. He's not the only conservative I've heard say that. Is there a valid argument behind this saying? | 40 | I wouldn't call it a valid argument, but he does have a point.
At the moment, you were a child, then in school, then in college - so you have never had to pay any real taxes.
Therefore it's very easy to believe taxes should be raised to pay for social programs/education etc.
However assuming you graduate college and... | 83 |
[MCU] as captain America is captain a proper rank or just a title for who ever is captain America at the time? | 40 | Title. Even though Steve was promoted to the actual rank of Captain, "Captain America" was originally a character created by the US Army as part of a campaign designed to promote the war effort based on the publicity created by Steve's public pursuit of the nazi spy | 39 | |
[DC] Amanda Waller loves to be in control and dislikes/hates the Justice League. Why hasn't she ever tried to turn them into her Suicide Squad? | Waller is cunning and ruthless, with a severe dislike of the Justice League. She knows their vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and she has plenty of resources.
Why hasn't she tried to use this knowledge to turn them into her Suicide Squad; i.e. blackmail them, put bombs in their neck etc.? I'm sure she could get some o... | 52 | The justice league aren't locked up criminals at your mercy that will jump at a shorter sentence. They're incredibly powerful and experienced superhumans who have access to resources on the level of multiple nations, are nearly universally beloved and have countless superhuman and political allies. Better people then A... | 88 |
[MCU] Among all of the characters from the MCU's "Avengers," which are Dudes, and which are Men, according to Drax's system of measurement? | (possible spoiler alert!)
​
So, my original question was whether Drax was a dude or a man. Then I thought about "The Big Lebowski," and kind of started to wonder (unrelatedly, of course): was Obediah Stone a Dude, or a Man? Then I thought about Tony Stark - is *he* a Dude, or a Man? (I would say Tony Stark... | 36 | Cap: Man
Tony: Man
Rhodey: Dude
Sam: Man
Stephen: Dude
Mordo: Man
Wong: Man
Peter: Dude
Ned: Dude
T'Challa: Man
W'Kabi: Dude
Scott: Dude
Hank: Dude
Peter: Dude
Rocket: Dude
Groot: Man
Drax: Man
Bruce: Dude
Hulk: Man
Clint: Dude | 22 |
ELI5: Why do some pimples/blackheads bleed when you pop them, and others don't? | I thought pimples and blackheads were blocked pores. I didn't think pores had blood running through them - I thought the veins were "under" the pores, so to speak. So where does the blood come from? And why do some pimples/blackheads bleed but others do not? | 2,095 | There are a few factors for which bleed, from the size of the wall if it's cystic to the place it is (how thick your skin is there)
But basically, you can imagine each of your pores as a ziplock full of peanut butter floating in a pool. If you try to squeeze out the peanut butter, especially if you don't open the zipl... | 2,308 |
ElI5- what did Nietzsche mean when he said "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you." | I always interpreted it as if you look at something long enough, you'll become that thing. For example, if I see drama and chaos everywhere I go, that means I'm a chaotic person. Whereas if I saw peace and serenity everywhere I go, I will always have peace and serenity.
Make sense? | 12,730 | The context gives some clue, especially the preceding sentence:
> He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.
The warning might be generalized: You can't go out changing things, without things also changin... | 14,733 |
ELI5:why does stress cause diarrhea like symptoms? | 37 | These symptoms occur due to your body's innate response to stress, which is to move blood away from your gut (stomach, intestines) to your muscles and other vital organs causing gastrointestinal distress if you have food in your stomach. This is known as the "fight or flight" response caused by sympathetic nervous syst... | 21 | |
CMV: Sex is an act of love and casual sex is weird | A couple of people already informed me that I have a wrong view on sex and should get it fixed, however my family members and close friends have told me that I'm in the right.
I basically believe that sex is the most intimate physical act two humans can perform and should only be done if the two partners have actual f... | 88 | Sex can be an act of love, but it can also be just something to fulfill your urges. Sex is seen as primarily being about love, because that's what religions teach us.
The idea that it's exclusively for love isn't natural. That's something that religious beliefs tell you, but if you take a look at pre-agricultural and ... | 117 |
CMV: There is a toxic mindset when it comes to depression/anxiety being solely attributed to brain chemistry | I want to preface by saying I do not have extensive knowledge or qualifications when it comes to mental health or biology. In recent years there has been a spotlight on mental health and people reaching out to get help etc. I think this is great and people should get the help they need and look to live their life to th... | 19 | This armchair neurology rhetoric - "depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain" - is most often uttered to combat the more sinister misconception that depression is simply a result of bad motivation and lack of effort.
The depressed are often given instructions or advice on how to "cheer themselves up." Get out ... | 25 |
ELI5: Why are local mexican and asian markets cheaper than super markets? | Can someone explain, using basic economic terms, why the local mexican and asian markets are able to provide meats and produce at cheaper prices than the large super markets like raleys or safeway? how is it these tiny stores are able to undercut the large retailers? | 19 | In a big chain supermarket, distributors are actually PAYING the store for shelf space... that's why the brand name kids cereal is at arms' reach, while generic or "off brand" KaKa poofs are on the bottom shelf.
A small specialty store only has so many brands to deal with, and some of these places import only one brand... | 10 |
CMV: JK Rowling's messages in her books were downright awful and dangerous, especially for a kid's book. | CMV: When I say "JK Rowling messages are dangerous" I'm referring to the messages she had in her book regarding the Dursleys and Harry's relationship.
In any other setting, Harry's childhood would have been a villain's origin story. From what I remember it only shows the abuse Harry takes from them daily and never Har... | 21 | When dumbledore said that he was explaining the original thought and why they didn’t keep him.
They didn’t know Petunia / all of them would neglect Harry. Their belief wasn’t anything concrete just a hope that it would continue through the maternal connection **not** that Petunia would love him but that whatever kept... | 21 |
I believe far too many US policies are based on emotion and not logic. CMV | I take a look at most of the controversial issues and see both sides appealing to poor-logic arguments that tug at heartstrings but have no substantial backing.
Both sides of the abortion debate are probably the worst. Pictures of dead babies/fetuses vs "you can't control my vagina" signs. The argument basically boil... | 30 | Politics and policy are not the same thing, and you're talking about about political arguments, but not necessarily policy decisions.
That's not to say that policy decisions aren't impacted by emotional political arguments. They are. But there are scientific ways to analyze various policies or programs for effectivene... | 12 |
How did the rabies virus evolve to cause the death of its host so quickly? From an evolutionary point of view, that appears counter productive? | Most of the natural hosts of rabies virus only survive for a few weeks. How did the virus evolve this characteristic ? Isn’t that a poor evolutionary trait? Why didn’t it evolve to cause the host a mild encephalitis and irritable state where the animal would show a degree of aggression but not perish in a week or so?... | 447 | You are looking at it purely from a human/canine/etc perspective.
You're 100% correct that diseases that purely exhibit such extreme symptoms and progression aren't very long-lived, but there's a reason why rabies - unlike eg the Spanish Flu, sweating sickness, and thousands of other bouts of infectious diseases that ... | 361 |
Is burnout normal in academics? | Im a doctoral candidate, (4th year) and though there is the light at the end of the tunnel, I feel like I burnt myself out so hard last year (COVID, grant writing w no laptop, could not go to lab, got married, family disowned me, and threats from family members, took quals twice (failed the first time)). My advisors do... | 165 | It’s sadly very common. Try to prioritize mental health now. Don’t tell yourself to push trough and deal with that stuff after finishing the PhD. I’ve seen many friends where this strategy did not work out well. | 106 |
Forgive me if this has already been asked, but why is it that, historically, natures giants are herbivores (i.e. blue whales, elephants, brachiosaurus)? What is it about plants that are more beneficial in sustaining a larger body than meat? | 50 | Every level you go up in the food chain requires ten times as much from the one below it. 100 pounds of cow needs 1000 pounds of grass, 100 pounds of lion needs 1000 pounds of cow and 10000 pounds of grass. Imagine how much meat a carnivorous elephant would need. | 84 | |
[MCU] How come Ant-Man can punch Ghost? | Hey everyone, i'm not a huge consumer of the MCU but have recently been trying to catch up so that I can enjoy Endgame. I was watching Ant-Man and the Wasp and I do not believe this was addressed. I also am not incredibly familiar with the names of the players at the moment, so will try my best.
My question is simple.... | 38 | She can touch stuff, it’s just on and off.
Her power is fundamentally unstable, so when she wants to be intangible there’s a chance that she’ll suddenly become tangible. And the thing that’s destroying her life is that when she wants to be solid, she frequently goes ghostly. | 54 |
ELI5: If EMPs can shut down all electricity, why dont they effect the electrical impulses in our bodies? | 46 | First lets look at what an EMP actually is. It is an "electromagnetic pulse", or an extremely powerful oscillating magnetic field. This causes currents to be formed in conductors through induction, and is more powerful the longer the conductor. The result is powerful surges of electricity in the power grid, and electro... | 32 | |
When I turn on a flahslight, am I creating brand new light particles (photons?) that didn't previously exist? | . | 22 | Short answer: Yes.
Electrical energy goes into the light-emitting device (whether that's an incandescent bulb or a light-emitting diode) and gets converted into photons emitted from the flashlight. | 12 |
CMV: the /u/spez situation is being blown out of proportion | Keep in mind an event like this of a ceo or admins editing posts has NEVER happened, this is especially true since most things in a post gamer gate world is mostly achieved.
I don't believe this would set a precedent, spez and in fact the rest of the administration team have been as open as possible about reddits ope... | 76 | It's a big deal because it is immoral to use editing abilities to deliberately misrepresent a person - to make it appear as if they said something which they did not say ... he could have simply removed any posts which he found offensive.
It is a form of libel. | 90 |
Could an creature have both an endo and exoskeleton? Do any? | 276 | As far as i understand it, no creatures have both as it is simply not required. One of the basic functions of a skeleton (exo or endo) is simply to provide structural support for the creature, so it can move. If it has a exoskeleton it has no need of an endoskeleton, and vice versa.
However i'm not sure if you would ... | 59 | |
Biologists say that humans have 10x more bacteria in their body than human cells, but how can this number be possible? | 65 | Bacteria are much smaller than human cells, roughly 1/10th the diameter in size. Imagine a cantaloupe compared to a blueberry or a grape to get a rough idea of their relative sizes. There's a very large population of bacteria living in your gastrointestinal tract, which is where that 10x number usually comes from. By w... | 60 | |
ELI5:Why are ISPs not considered monopolies? | E.g. Only Comcast (Argh!!) is available in my neighborhood and just keeps raising the price and now is making us sign up for a contract | 180 | They are often considered monopolies in the regions they serve. Cable companies are very often regulated as natural monopoly 'utilities' by municipal utility commissions. The laws governing how these organizations regulate are often old, archaic, and have been manipulated by industry lobbying to make it difficult for t... | 48 |
What is the difference between white and brown eggs at the supermarket? | I grew up in California with my mom buying white eggs at the grocery store. When I moved to college, I had two European room mates who thought white eggs were so bizarre, and only bought brown eggs. I've noticed that brown eggs are usually a bit more expensive than white eggs as well...
I know eggs from different bre... | 134 | Chicken farmer here.
There is no significant difference between the contents of chicken eggs, regardless of egg shell color.
Some people use egg color as a proxy for selecting more humanely produced eggs, on the theory that brown egg layers are not raised in poor conditions as often as white egg layers. The hope that... | 84 |
CMV: Israel is an apartheid state | 18 | When you defined the "crime of Apartheid", basically none of the things you listed actually apply to Israel. If you are an Israeli citizen you're entitled to the same privileges as Israeli Jews regardless of your religion or ethnicity. Everyone else has clarified the intermarriage situation. The only discrimination you... | 16 | |
[Star Trek] If Data was so unique as an android, then what was Roger Korby making? | 24 | Data was unique because he had the potential to be very, very human. He could learn, grow, decide things on his own and... Let's not forget. He was fully functional and anatomically correct.
Korby's androids, on the other hand, were trapped by their programming. Unlike the superior Soong-types, the Korby-type androids... | 34 | |
ELI5: Why, in the modern age of "HD" obsession do phone conversations still sound like you're listening through a tin can? | It struck me as odd when I was listening to a call-in radio show last night. The hosts were having trouble hearing the caller, and rightly so, because she sounded like she was transmitting from Mars. Couldn't "they" employ some kind of EQ feature for voice? "Android. Now available with 'TrueVoice'^TM "
**EDIT:** I n... | 1,719 | It's a legacy due to cost. When we used the old analogue (POTS) phone system it was designed to work well enough to be intelligible, but no more than that because a slight increase in quality would have cost huge sums.
Then technology moved on and phones first went digital. When this was specified it turned out that a... | 819 |
[Warhammer/WH40K] Has a servant of Chaos every truly escaped from servitude to the Dark Gods? | 30 | For those who truly repent, it is possible to die in the Emperor's light.
But really that's your only hope. As long as you're alive, the Ruinous Powers will have their hooks in you. It doesn't matter if you're piling skulls for the Skull Throne or down on your knees flogging yourself before the high altar of a sacred ... | 36 | |
ELI5:The Deep Web and the dark internet | 53 | The deep web is part of the normal internet. But it's a part that isn't indexed by search engines. That can be unintentional, but more often is intentional. Onion servers reached through the Tor network (which is likely what you've been reading about that sparked your curiosity) are part of the deep web. Most people di... | 35 | |
How is it that voltage lags current in a capacitive AC circuit? | I thought that voltage is the force that “compelled” current to flow, so how could it be that current can flow “ahead” of voltage? | 23 | Instantaneously, what is happening is that current is proportional to the derivative of voltage: i=C dv/dt. There's no anticipation: if voltage sits steady for a while and then starts to change, there will be no current until it starts to change.
With a steady sine wave, it turns out that dv/dt is largest when v is n... | 18 |
ELI5: Why do already popular products need to spend so much money on advertising? At this point, don't most consumers already have a basic knowledge about CocaCola, Doritos, Budweiser, etc.? | To be clear, I'm not referring to ads that inform consumers about new products or offers (i.e., Coke with Lime, Bud Light Platinum, new sandwich at McDonalds). I'm basically curious as to why there are so many commercials for basic well-known products. Might be a naive question | 65 | It's not about making sure you're aware of it, it's about building brand loyalty, especially when you're young.
They know, for example, that the soda you drink at age 20 is likely to be your preferred soda for the rest of your life -- and the beer you drink at age 25 will likely always be your preferred beer.
The adv... | 40 |
CMV: Personally eating meat isn't wrong | I accept the premise that animal cruelty is wrong and that treating animals badly is immoral. However, if you are going to places like Walmart which presumably sells thousands of pounds of meat a day, a single consumer choosing whether or not to buy meat probably does not impact whether or not they demand more meat fr... | 20 | > a single consumer choosing whether or not to buy meat probably does not impact whether or not they demand more meat from their suppliers
It is true that buying a chicken from walmart probably doesn't have an effect. However, when it does, the effect is large, and you should not ignore it.
Imagine Walmart buys t... | 18 |
[Westworld] This definitely seems like a place where some guests would stay up all night on a bender of alcohol, gambling, bar fights, etc. How do the park workers get the time to repair/reset everything without guests noticing? | Is there a rule that guests have to go to bed at midnight? That seems like it would ruin the immersion.
Are the hosts programmed to spike your drink (without you knowing) to force you to sleep? | 16 | Throughout the show in the first season they're constantly talking about immersion and integration of other stories. What in guessing happens is that they simply shut down all "side quests" where that robot was a key factor until they're able to bring it back. The "locals" are the ones that take the "dead bodies" away ... | 27 |
CMV: If you are a feminist who believes the patriarchy should be destroyed, but can't quantify the results of it's destruction, you are not for any form of gender equality whatsoever | So I've been talking with some feminists lately, as one does, and I realized I had a total blind spot in my understanding of what feminists completely believed. So I asked them, "what is the patriarchy?"
Seems fairly straightforward, right? Well, the uniform answers I've been getting are actually quite unnerving. I fe... | 26 | Why does this situation require everybody to have an incredibly thorough and in-depth assessment of society to believe their motivations? Why do you assume that not being able to articulate their position means their position is actually for female superiority? Do you assume bad faith when other people argue for someth... | 22 |
[Star Wars] A Jedi from the 10,000 years in the past is brought forward in time to just before the Phantom Menace. What changes in the order and the society at large shocks them the most? | Can be from further then 10,000 years if that's not long enough. | 34 | The first change they'll notice is the lightsabers which weren't fully invented as a small device until somewhere after the great hyperspace war. Then they'll be terrified of the existence of the sith having ever happened. Older jedi studied a more balanced version of the force and while the focused on the light side c... | 48 |
ELI5: Why is brushing your teeth so important for their (our) health? Did our ancestors make any moves towards cleaning their teeth? Is it related to dietary trends over the years? | I feel that before the modern era of tooth care, brushing would have been ridiculed, rudimentary and unsanitary. How did the hygienic custom begin? | 15 | IANAD(entist), but our modern dental predicament is due to the ridiculous amounts of sugars that we consume in our foods.
While there were toothbrushes and other dental instruments going back hundreds of years, food stuffs had far less sugar; people didn't have over processed industrial starchy-corn-syrup-fructose ove... | 16 |
What starts the movement of an meteor or a comet? What force made it move initially? | What makes a random object such as a meteor to fly pass planets, what was the initial force or push that starts it's movement? Since Inertia might apply over here(unless it doesn't, the correct me if I'm wrong), wouldn't the space rocks stay in a place, unless an external force is applied on it. | 42 | Much of this motion begins during the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud around a newly formed star.
As the protostar's gravity pulls the gas and dust into it, conservation of angular momentum will flatten that gas and dust into a rotating disk around the star (the protoplanetary disks you may have heard abou... | 12 |
ELI5: How is this projectile aerodynamically stable? | https://i.imgur.com/Xs6NdMC.gifv | 106 | It appears to be the shape of a reentry capsule used on spacecraft.
This shape has a blunt front to deflect air around the craft without causing too much heating in one local place while causing enough drag to slow the capsule down effectively.
The rear is sloped in a conical shape to aid in stability. The center of... | 67 |
ELI5: Why do rainbows last so long? I know they come from the refraction of light through rain drops, but aren't those drops always moving? What keeps a rainbow stationary and constant? | 15 | It's the same way that cars crossing a bridge are always moving, but "traffic on the bridge" seems stationary and constant. Some cars exit the bridge, new cars enter the bridge, and so you're looking at different cars, but the same traffic. | 16 | |
ELI5:Why did channels like TLC, The History Channel and Discovery Channel switch to airing only shitty scripted reality shows and stop airing anything of substance? | 1,494 | They try a show and when that show has lots of viewers they get more ad money. They then try to replicate the success with a similar show and that continues until there are not enough viewers to justify the production costs.
Tldr: because people watch it. | 1,274 | |
[Toy Story] Do toy figurines of religious idols really believe they're the religion's diety or do they believe they're a toy? | 171 | It seems that something being a toy depends on how they're viewed by humans, especially children.
So since religious paraphernalia is viewed more as decoration than as a toy, that means that they wouldn't come to life. | 75 | |
(Meta) (DC/Marvel) Why is Asgard science perceived as magic, yet Krypton science as advanced technology? | Krypton is shown often to be a very science orientated world, with many advanced technology feats that we can only dream of.
Asgard is shown to be a world of beauty and war, with of magical feats explained off by advanced science.
How are the two cultures so vastly different with their technology | 34 | "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke
The Asgardians are significantly more technologically advanced than Kryptonians. Asgardian technology is so advanced that it exists beyond the realm of what we perceive to be "technology". When you look at the Bifrost (the tech... | 48 |
ELI5: Could investigators go back and test the dna evidence from the O.J Simpson case using today's DNA techniques to confirm if it was truly Simpson's DNA? | 41 | There's zero doubt that it was OJ's DNA. OJ's defense was that it was possibly planted by a racist detective(Furhman) as part of a systematic culture of racism in the LA Police Dept. Whether or not it was actually his DNA was not in question. Also the murder weapon was never located, so you couldn't test that. | 38 | |
Is it possible to improve one's vision without glasses or surgery? | 70 | I am an American board-certified ophthalmologist. Let me clear a few things up. In general, nearsightedness is caused from the eye being too long, and farsightedness is due to the eye being too short. There is no way to change this with any type of activity or medication. However, as we get older the lens of the eye be... | 58 | |
[Star Trek] Why are the so many humanoids? | I know of the progenitors (I think), who believed they were the only sentient species, long ago and didn't want to be alone, so they seeded many planets in their likeness. But we have seen many other species that were not created by them, along with quite a few nonhumanoid species.
If we know that other life is possi... | 29 | > But we have seen many other species that were not created by them
How did you determine that? The progenitors is the explanation for the overwhelming humanoid appearance throughout the galaxy. There may be a few cases of convergent evolution, but that is unlikely. If you see a species that is humanoid, it is beca... | 16 |
CMV: We do not have free will | Free will is nonexistent, and our sense of self and ego is an illusion millions of years of evolution has created. Our basic decisions and moods can be influenced heavily by our emotions I.e. people doing irrational things when very angry, sad, distressed. We normally do not have control over a mood, if your anxious ab... | 64 | So, the thing is... you're pointing out how free will works and then saying "therefore" it doesn't exist. if youbuild a car and can point to the motor and the drive train and the wheels, should you say, cars don't really have motion? It's all just physics.
"Free will isn't magic." Is really the claim you're making. "... | 26 |
Can someone help break down this Covid-19 Delta variant vaccine ADE research? | This article was recently shared with me in an attempt to discourage me from getting my child vaccinated against Covid-19. That biased me against the article immediately, but Journal of Infection appears to be a reputable, peer-reviewed source.
At a high level, the article appears to be saying that generation 1 mRNA ... | 30 | "ADE" is a condition where antibodies enhance disease, logically enough.
We know that in the case of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies do *not* enhance disease. How do we know this? We have literally billions of people carrying antibodies, whether from infection or vaccination, and they are *protected* against disease. There are... | 28 |
How can railway cables be kilometres long without a huge voltage drop? | I was wondering about this, since the cables aren't immensely thick. Where I live there runs a one phase 1500V DC current to supply the trains with power, so wouldn't there be an enormous voltage drop over distance? Even with the 15kV AC power supply in neighbouring countries this voltage drop should still be very sign... | 3,306 | Part of designing such systems is allowing for fairly substantial swings in actual supply voltage compared to the nominal.
(The IEC 60850 standard, for instance, specifies that a nominal 1500 VDC system is in spec as long as the voltage on the line is anywhere between 1000 and 1800 VDC.)
System design considerations ... | 2,298 |
CMV: I have no emotional connection to my religion. Having an emotional connection to a religion is strange. | I am a practicing Hindu. Every day, I try to meditate, chant mantras, perform rituals etc, I also burn incense, listen to bhajan (devotional songs) etc. I go to a temple meet up group weekly for around 2 hours.
Thing is, I don't think I feel any emotional connection to Hinduism at all. I don't care if anyone says anyt... | 15 | It's very possible that your religious practice differs from others, but for many people religion is a matter of deep personal faith that supercedes logic; it *has* to work on an emotional level. It isn't strange at all to have an emotional connection to that.
Additionally, experiencing depersonalization constantly is... | 23 |
[Harry Potter] Why wasn't Hermione sorted into Ravenclaw? | 129 | Because the hat doesn't sort you based on what traits you *have* the most of. It sorts you based on what you *value* the most. Why was Nevllle sorted into Gryffindor despite being a pussy? What were Crabbe and Goyle sorted into Slytherine despite not having an ounce of Cleverness or Ambition (evil / pureblood house ... | 268 | |
Why is "that was just the initial condition" not considered as an answer to the horizon problem? | [Physics] I understand the problem is that the cmb is uniform and that implies that the early universe mixed, but did it have to mix? Couldn't it have just started off uniform? | 117 | It's possible, but all that does is shift the goalpost without actually explaining anything: why, then, did it start out that way? Given what we know about quantum mechanics, the universe starting out uniform would be *unusual*, so it just raises a bunch of questions that we have no way of even beginning to answer.
To... | 21 |
ELI5: How does alcohol make you drunk? | 505 | Ethanol molecules are very small, which means they can pass through the barrier between the bloodstream and brain quickly. Once the ethanol molecules reaches the area of the brain responsible for controlling the central nervous system, a number of things happen. Ethanol is considered a depressant, so when it comes in c... | 316 | |
[Dune Novels] What is the real basis of prescience? | It seems that to me that there are two main interpretations, but I haven't found any explanation that does not simply take one or the other for granted and then progress to more 'interesting' conclusions from it. One is that the powerfully prescient are capable of absorbing data from their experience and knowledge, and... | 23 | I've always taken it more as the former. The existence of the No-Gene and No-Rooms being deliberately engineered to disrupt predictive paths by concealing information from such precient calculations seem to support that. They don't have any magical ability to block far-sight, but rather alter or disrlrupt sources of in... | 23 |
[MCU]: Are the "realms" that asgardians are able to travel too simply other planets? Or are they traveling to different universes. | Asgard seems to be regarded as somehow special because they are able to travel to different realms. But if they're technology only let's them travel to a limited number of planets then aren't they not all that great in comparison to other space faring races?
The collector in guardians of the galaxy said that each infi... | 95 | In the comics all 9 realms are different dimensions, in MCU i think they are only different parts of space, connected by yggdrasil, which make travel instant, rather then very long, even with ftl. The infinity stones are not a product from a big bang each, they are from before the big bang. It was a great being, that s... | 84 |
How come cars don't automatically detect and tell what is wrong with them? Given all the technology we have today? | All we have is the check engine light. What I would like is an LCD text prompt that tells what specifically is wrong. Is it because repair shops have monopolized on the check engine light reading equipment? | 20 | But they do, just not to you.
You can read out an errorcode and look it up with an instrument for $100 off ebay, but why whould you?
If the code turns out to be, faulty generator, you still need to go to the shop.
And EVERYTHING will give off false messages all the time, the trick is learning how to interpreting them... | 14 |
[Starship Troopers]At the start of the movie contact with the bugs was fairly limited. How did the Federation get enough Giant Bug larvae to supply them for high school science class dissections? | Making them available for a typical school implies that they have a vast supply of them. You would think that the larvae of bugs transported across the galaxy and taken from a highly hostile species would be difficult, the Federation had never engaged in planet side combat by this point in Starship Troopers so it bogg... | 22 | The federation had limited colonization efforts near the arachnid quarantine zone. There was also at least one non federation human colony inside arachnid space. The arachnids weren't overtly hostile to human presence at least initially and exotic zoology would make a fine export for a fledgling colony that isn't minin... | 20 |
[Fallout] How has no one written a survival guide before Moria brown's one? | I was just thinking about this. In the two hundred years since the bombs fell wouldn't someone have made a survival guide by now? | 25 | Because like Moria says, the book is meant for adventures and people who are going out and about the wasteland. The ordinary people know what's out there and survive by simply staying in their protected space and defending it. These people might have a run in with some or other animals or mutants but it's nothing they ... | 25 |
[Warframe] So what does my future look like? Should I get out of dodge asap, or am I going to live? | So I, a grineer marine, was assigned to a critical area in hopes that I could help defend against the tenno when the facility is attacked. Well, today a tenno attacked and before the alarm was actually raised, he ran right in front of me. He darted away before I could get a shot out, and he completed his mission before... | 28 | Obviously you are defective and will need to report for recycling so that your cybernetics can be put to better use for the queens. Don't try running not many steel meridian traitors can stand up to the wrath of the grineer long enough for you to escape to earth. | 23 |
[Doctor Who] In Day of the Doctor, all 13 Doctors communicate with the War Council and save Gallifrey. Any indication as to where in each Doctor's personal histories they were from? Perhaps based on their clothing? Except the Seventh Doctor, who wore two two sets of clothes during the scene. | 17 | As far as i know, there is no indication at which point in their lives they arrived there. it seems all of them were alone tho, so most likely at a point where they didnt have any companions. but there is no telling how old they actually were when it happend, and it wouldnt matter since due to how meeting yourself work... | 12 | |
Starting Postdoc@30 | Hi, I recently graduated with a PhD in a STEM field from a top tier department in my field. I have 2 publications so far and at least 2 more in line, planned for this year. I accepted a postdoc position at another University which is also well ranked, but in a slightly different area. I do want to aquire the skills tha... | 66 | Not everybody who does postdocs and then moves to industry jobs regret it, even if financially they are worse off in the long term. It can be very rewarding to do research for a few years, even if you have no long-term future in academia, and most likely you do not.
​
Since we don't know your field, we ca... | 51 |
ELI5 Why do certain sound frequencies make us feel unnerved/afraid? | 15 | Your brain has a sort of "library" of sounds. For example, loud thuds and booms in nature are usually something like thunder, a large boulder/tree falling, etc.
These grab your attention because they present imminent danger and you generally have a good idea why.
For sounds which are not in that "library", your bra... | 16 | |
CMV: Nuclear weapons are evil and the UK should scrap them for good | I am pretty much for nuclear disarmament in the UK (I dont mind power though) . I just don't see how a bunch of nuclear weapons gives the UK protection from anything, its not like they will ever be used.
The arguments I have heard for keeping them just don't work for me, people mention that it keeps the UK on the Se... | 114 | The primary reason the UK is currently protected from nuclear strike is that it falls under the ambit of protection by the United States military. Both the large US nuclear arsenal and the large conventional forces at the US's disposal. It is unquestioned that if a foreign government nuked London, that the US Marines ... | 82 |
How would galactic internet work? | Nothing can beat the speed of light, and we all know that, at least with our current technology. However, since we are eventually going to conquer another planet someday, we would want to figure out how to access the internet from a nearby star system.
Let's say we conquer Proxima b - the closest planet that "supports... | 35 | You can't.
The only way to rapidly communicate over distances that long is to somehow overcome the limitation of the speed of light. But that is firmly in the realm of science fiction.
A regular internet request from Proxima Centauri (and whatever orbits that star) will take more than 8 years. 4 years for the request... | 38 |
ELI5: How does a rice cooker know that the rice inside it is cooked? | Usually, i cook long grained white rice in our rice cooker and it takes about 10 minutes to cook. But recently, we switched to brown rice and its cooking time is longer, i think like 25 minutes.
edit: thank you for all the answers guys! | 60 | Once the rice cooker's thermal sensor detects the pot going above 212 degrees, the water has all been absorbed. At that point, the rice is done. To prevent the rice from cooking any further, the sensor automatically trips the shut-off switch for the heating mechanism. | 96 |
Do cats and reptiles have similar eyes because of convergent evolution, or could they maybe be using the same genes? | 287 | You would need to clarify what you mean by "similar eyes". If you are referring to the vertically elliptical pupils that cats have (narrow rather than round), then yes, it is probably convergent. If you look at an evolutionary tree of the terrestrial vertebrates, vertically elliptical pupils appear in a handful of isol... | 97 |
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