query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why do gas prices rise and fall at what seems like random points? | [
"It’s based on the price of oil. The price of oil is based on a lot of things, but simply put, supply and demand. As the global population grows, so does demand. As technology advances, so does supply. Depending on which of these is progressing faster you’ll see the price of oil and therefore gas change. Furtherm... | [
"Electric buses are not causing a surplus of gas. The article you read was about how electric buses were reducing the demand for gas from municipal bus services. But municipal bus services form a very small fraction of the overall demand for gas. Overall demand for gas has consistently increased by about 2% per yea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Economics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Economics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do pharmaceuticals decide which of their medications will be available as a generic? What percentage do they make off them? | [
"A drug patent lasts about 20 years. After that anyone can snag the ingredient list and make a generic. The only money the original patent holder makes after that is if doctors still prescribe the brand name and pharmacists actually fill it instead of the generic."
] | [
"The name brand version is typically that did all the research, development, testing, and patenting. The extra costs of that drug are associated with the cost of development of said product. Once a patent expires, the generics come out that typically use the same active ingredient. The inactive ingredients though c... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How do we “hear” our voices in our heads? | [
"Like many things to do with the mind, brain, and consciousness. We're not completely sure. MRI scans show that the area of the brain used for language and social interaction lights up when we do it, along with a bunch of other areas. So essentially it turns on the parts of the brain used for talking, without act... | [
"So what is it about human physiology that makes this work differently for us?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why does stress and sleep deprivation lower your libido? | [
"Sex makes babies. Babies make stressed and lose sleep. If already tired and stressed, your body no want add babies."
] | [
"I work 24 hour shifts. The first symptom is cognitive decline. I literally get stupid. I also become more distractable and irritable. Not thinking clearly leads one to be more accident-prone. Sleep deprivation stresses your heart and greatly increases your chances of a heart attack. It messes with your metabolism,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are the roles in a courtroom? | [
"Assuming you mean an American court... and assuming you mean criminal court rather than civil court, since you mentioned a defendant... The Defendant is who has been charged with the crime or crimes that the trial is about. The Jury are the group of people selected from the community for this trial to ultimately d... | [
"It's a big system. It also carries a bit from state to state. Are you interested in the application process? Policy? Logistics?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is the way that fish school in water caused by the same biological instinct as how birds flock in flight, or is it different? | [
"It's very similar yes, not biological instinct per se, more like convergent evolution. Basically large groups act as a whole, but no one animal is in control. Any one fish or bird will pay attention to the nearest 4-7 animals. If two on the left go down and right then they will as well, until the \"ripple\" evens ... | [
"They don't actually have a leader. Each fish is functioning with a set of rules or guidelines that creates a system where they move in coordination, which they've practiced all their lives. Sometimes, there will be a focal fish - not a leader, but near the center. This is the fish that a group will use as a base f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why American job applications ask for your race. | [
"If you have GSA contracts, i.e. you sell to the government, many have stipulations that you employ a diverse work force or have a diverse supply base. Additionally, it helps them manage their internal demographics so they don’t fall out of line with the region norms and develop bad optics regarding their hiring pr... | [
"Because people are willing to pay for it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why are most headphones marked left and right? | [
"Most music is mixed in a stereo format. This allows the music to sound how the artists want in your ears. For example they usually want to emulate how it would be if they were in front of you. The guitar might be a little more on your right ear. The bass right down the middle. The back up vocals a little to the le... | [
"Your headphones obviously have a loose connection somewhere inside the cable jacket. When you put the cable into just the right position it will complete the circuit and you'll hear sound in the right ear. The two ears use different wires so that's why one is broken and the other works fine."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When markets sell products. Why does majority of the items sold end with a .99 cents? Why not charge the full dollar instead? | [
"Subconscious advertising. Which looks cheaper to you: $1,999.99 or $2,000.00? You mind sees the price that starts with the 1 as cheaper because 1 is less than 2."
] | [
"The primary usage is to disguise the fact that the item is $50. If you glance at it quickly, you'll notice the $49 first or even the $4x.xx. This allows the consumer to subconsciously think it is cheaper than previously thought. Secondly, if you are doing price matching online, the results will show yours first (W... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When using slow internet, why do some web pages load bit by bit, while others show nothing until the full result appears? | [
"When the internet was always slow we designed it so that the first part loaded quickly and other stuff showed up when it could. Now pages are built expecting everything to load quickly so they don't optimize. Plus advertisements take time to pull from other servers and JavaScript code sometimes needs everything to... | [
"Just technicalities. Buffering is partially loading something for streaming. Loading is loading the entire thing"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why can't foods have both a Best Before Date and Use By date? | [
"Well they could, but there are no regulations that force companies to do that. In fact there aren’t really any regulations towards the dates on products. The companies themselves choose those dates. Most, if not all, use those dates to determine when they think their product might not perform or taste the best. Ev... | [
"Sell by date- this is when the store should remove the product. This is often erring on the side of caution. Best by date- when a product's freshness begins to drop. Your food should still be good for a period of time afterwards. Expiration date- your product is inedible once this date has been reached."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do most whiskey names begin with Glen? Glen-something, glenlivet, glenfiddich, glengoul? | [
"It has to do with scotch (whisky from Scotland) in particular. A Glen in Scottish means Valley. So, when you hear Glen something, it often refers to the valley of nearby village/area where the distillery is located."
] | [
"It's not technically pronounced \"winds-day,\" it's pronounced \"wends-day\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come phone CPUs have octa-core processers when most laptop CPUs (even high end) are usually dual/quad core? | [
"If you look at the specs on these phones, they're actually *two joined quad core* processors. There's one set of fast cores for when you're actively using the phone and a set of slow processors that don't use nearly as much power for times it's not \"active\" (eg - sitting in your pocket). This is done to help the... | [
"i3s are typically dual cores with hyperthreading. i5s are quad cores, though I have seen mobile i5s that were hyperthreaded duals. i7s are quad or higher, usually with hyperthreading."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does PETA even kill animals? | [
"Domesticated animals cannot be set free because they do not know how to fend for themselves. They can't hunt and don't know what is dangerous and what isn't. So if let go they would most likely suffer, starve and die. But PETA is against keeping any sort of animal no matter what so their logic is its kinder to kil... | [
"I use both sides of my mouth when I chew. Why would you only use one?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How does nuclear power compare to that of others (solar, wind, coal, etc.)? I've heard a lot of talk recently about how it's the safest and most efficient, but I know absolutely nothing. | [
"Other than solar, which is done using something called a photovoltaic cell, or other solar heat collection methods, power ultimately is generated by mechanically turning a generator. This is typically done by either mechanically connecting a generator to turbine blades, as in a wind turbine, or by connecting it t... | [
"Pros of thorium: * produces less dangerous nuclear waste * is not useful in producing nuclear weapons * is more plentiful than uranium * we can design new reactors from the ground up with modern technology Cons: * only on the drawing board at this point, we don't know what other kinds of problems might arise * we ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why antibiotics becomes weaker, but stuff like silver, pepper etc doesn't? | [
"Silver uses the Oligodynamic effect to kill bacteria - _URL_0_ it relatively slowly kills bacteria because it is toxic to many kinds of bacteria. However it does this outside of the human body, it is really easy to kill bacteria, the problem comes with killing the bacteria and leaving the human body intact in the ... | [
"It means that it basically kills most bacteria but they're covering their arses so that they can't get sued if someone finds a strain of bacteria that their soap doesn't kill."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Microbiology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Microbiology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
What does Serotonin do exactly and how does it work? | [
"Low serotonin levels have been linked to depression. Serotonin is an important chemical and neurotransmitter in the human body. It is believed to help regulate mood and social behavior, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory, and sexual desire and function. Here’s a definition."
] | [
"\"feel good\" chemicals like Dopamine and and Serotonin don't cross the blood brain barrier, so you need drugs that will cause the brain to release them by itself."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do banks limit how far back you can look at transactions? | [
"In my bank after a year the data goes to an offline server to clear room on the onlinr one so it doesn't slow down. EDIT: forgot to say, i can still access that data but i need to get to the bank and ask for it, and it can take a few days."
] | [
"The only thing you need to be aware of is that you should NEVER settle for an account that: * has any sort of minimum balance fee. * makes you pay money for withdrawing from an ATM * makes you pay money for using a debit card Make sure you ask those questions. Apart from that, go nuts!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why have so many dinosaur bones survived for such a long time? Do dinosaur bones not decay? | [
"They aren't the original bones, they are [fossils](_URL_0_), a process in which the fossil basically becomes rock, preserving the original shape of the bone. Fossilization requires very specific conditions, but since there have been millions of prehistoric creatures, a certain percentage of them is bound to become... | [
"Fossilisation is rare, not everything becomes a fossil. It takes specific conditions for something to turn from organic matter to rock. And then, on top of that the fossil has to go undisturbed by tectonic movement, disasters or water for 60 million years (in the case of dinosaurs). We are very fortunate to have a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How are research projects funded and what measures are put in place to avoid conflicts of interest? | [
"Research projects get funded by organizations interested in funding them. These generally include the government and foundations dedicated to the topic in question. The real defense against bias is that the research organization's ability to win work depends on its credibility and impartiality. Methods and study d... | [
"What kind of school? What sorts of subjects will be taught at this school? Where will the school be located? How will the school handle funding and revenue? Depending on where the school will be, there will most likely be legal requirements to start a school. There may also be \"accreditation\" organizations, whic... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do some pepole name their kids same name with his father and call them jr. | [
"Because they want to. This is a personal decision that people make for their own reasons. George Bush Sr. decision might be different from Robert Downey Sr. decision. It might be a tradition in their family, a common family name, or perhaps it is their attempt to establish a kind of dynasty or lineage."
] | [
"It's not possible. It's only possible if there was a black person in your or your wife family. By that logic you could have a asian kid or a latino..."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How come when we are in the cold for a long period of time, our ears start to hurt? | [
"I would have thought it's due to your blood prioritising your vital organs in freezing temperatures, therefore moving away from your ears (and nose) to protect your brain."
] | [
"Because it can. Moving from extreme temperatures one to another can weaken your immune system and that makes it easier for you to get sick. So while it won't directly make you sick to be out in the cold, going between temps is what will do it. Unless it's something like hypothermia. That can make you sick just fro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What exactly does the Variance of a data set tell someone? | [
"Variance is a measurement of how spread out the data is. There's a old joke about three statisticians firing at a target. The first guy misses 2 feet to the left. The second guy misses 2 feet to the right. The third guy says \"I hit it!\" While their average shot is in the middle, the variance of their shots is ve... | [
"There are two different values that you derive using the formula. One by adding, one by subtracting."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
The "plumbing" from heart to head is relatively short so why is there so much blood when a throat is slit? | [
"All of the blood in your body is circulated when your heart beats, and your heart will keep pumping until it can't anymore. A main blood vessel that comes directly from your heart is in your neck, and as your heart continues to beat, the blood in the rest of your body gets pumped through that area and comes out of... | [
"Nurse here. It does reduce blood flow but the blood pressure does push it to stretch on the side of the artery without pressure. But you can fully stop flow with enough pressure. There are arteries and veins on both sides of the neck. That's why you only see a runner check one side at a time. You could make someon... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why "righty-tighty, lefty-loosy" does not apply to twist-ties, like the ones on the bag covering a loaf of sliced bread, which are almost always wound backwards (turn clockwise to undo). | [
"Nuts and Bolts need complimentary spirals to work properly, so the relevant industries and their manufacturers have all decided on a \"Righty Tighty\" standard. Twist Ties are glorified bits of string that tie to themselves. They don't need to match an industrial manufacturing standard to serve their core functio... | [
"Are you talking about the child-safety feature, where there is an inner cap and an outer cap and you have to squeeze or push down on the outer cap in order to make the inner cap turn (in the loosening direction)? If so, that is a child safety feature."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why do mirrors look silver from a distance when they are actually reflective? | [
"Mirrors are essentially very flat polished pieces of aluminum, silver, mercury, or other silver metals coated with glass or other clear protective surfaces."
] | [
"There is a glass pane covering over the actual reflective surface. What you are seeing is the side of the sticker that is on the glass. However, because the glass is thick, there is distance between the sticker and the reflective surface, so you can see the back through the glass. Did that answer your question?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Physics:"
} |
Why do some fabrics shrink when you put them in the dryer? | [
"Wool fibers are scaled, meaning they are smooth going in one direction but jagged going in another. When you have fabric made out of wool, with all of those interlocking fibers, and you introduce heat, water, and agitation, those fibers pull tighter and tighter together and, because of the scales, can't pull back ... | [
"New towels have dyes and sometimes even fabric softeners still in them from the manufacturing process, and these can be a bit water resistant. Best practice when you get new towels is to run them through a couple of wash cycles to get all of the stuff out. Don’t wash them with other clothes during these first cycl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why does the pitch of a sound become harder to distinguish when it is at a Lower volume? | [
"The pitch you hear has to do with how fast the note makes your eardrum vibrate. Volume has to do with how much force is behind the vibration. At high volumes there is a lot of vibration so it's easier for your brain to pick up on the pattern your eardrum is registering. At much quieter volumes there is much less v... | [
"Low notes vibrate slow enough that you can hear the individual back and forth of the strings. High notes vibrate so fast that it sounds like one seamless tone. If you were to record a high pitch sound and play it back at a slow speed, you'd hear a low pitch tone instead."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
what causes your stomach to "drop" when you get scared or nervous? | [
"It's part of the fight or flight response. Different stress hormones are released into the body and cause more blood to go away from your stomach and go towards your muscles and brain giving that drop feeling"
] | [
"The butterflies sensation is caused by a lack of blood flow to your stomach. It is a result of adrenaline being released because you are nervous. Different people have different nervous reactions. I dont get butterflies, but my legs get shaky. Some people get sweaty palms. Everyone is a bit different in their resp... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
When you see old videos that have been 'remastered in HD', how do they make them hd when originally filmed on a lower definition camera? | [
"Somewhat simplified but the videos were usually originally recorded on film. When they made the DVD, for example, they may have made scans of the film in SD resolution even though the film itself has much more detail. They can just scan the original film again with a higher resolution scanner. Traditional 35mm fil... | [
"It's kinda a strange concept, but since old movies were taken on real film, the film itself is basically HD (It's not that hard to realize either, if you look at some film, it's very very high quality picture) As long as you have the old film, it'll be convertible into HD into at least the near future (Past the ti... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why aren't old films that can't be remastered with the old reels not just remastered digitally with algorithms or upscaling software? | [
"They can be, but the technology is pretty new and still requires a lot of manual tweaking, which adds to the cost. So far it usually hasn't been worth it economically."
] | [
"Your blu-ray was probably a remastered version. The original physical film that the movie was recorded on is extremely high resolution so if they make the blu-ray from that, it's high quality. An older copy of the movie is low quality because you're watching it from a VHS tape, which is both low res and can degrad... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
- The dave Ramsey budgeting method. | [
"The short version: & #x200B; * Step1 - Save $1000 as quickly as you can for emergency expenses instead of using a credit card. * Step2 - Create a strict monthly budget and use ALL excess money to pay down your debts, starting with the smallest first. Even though some of the higher balances might have higher inter... | [
"This video by grey goes over the creation as well as other things concerning the us Canada border _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The difference between debit and credit cards | [
"Debit = money you own Credit= amount of money the banks will allow you to borrow (and you need to pay back)"
] | [
"There are two types of money: hard and soft. Cash or western union comes under hard type because they can't be reversed. While credit card transaction comes under soft transaction because they are reversible by design."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does moss grow on the north side of a tree in the northern hemisphere? How does it know? Why does it matter? | [
"Moss likes cool and damp areas. The north side of a tree will receive the least amount of sunlight compared to the others, meaning it will be slightly cooler and likely more damp due to less evaporation, creating a better enviroment for the moss to grow. Moss will actually grow on any side of a tree it can, it's j... | [
"Since it's a plant, it needs to get energy from the sun to live (through photosynthesis). It's easier to do this on the surface than underwater, especially in murky waters like are often found in ponds and lakes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why does squinting allow people who wear glasses to see things better? | [
"The smaller a hole letting light through, the larger the \"depth-of-field\", or the amount of stuff that is in focus is. This has to do with limiting the light entering the eye to only come in relatively few directions. You can actually see this without squinting by looking at something which is somewhat out-of-fo... | [
"Do you have corrected vision? And if not can you focus on other small things near your face without getting a headache?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the "momo challenge" or hoax and why is local news reporting on it? | [
"The \"Momo Challenge\" is a hoax Internet challenge, which was spread by users on Facebook and media outlets. It was reported that children and adolescents were being enticed by a user named Momo to perform a series of dangerous tasks including violent attacks and suicide. Despite claims that the phenomenon had re... | [
"no. We live a world security cameras, smart phone cameras and 24 hours news from CNN, Fox, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. If there were a shooting there would be evidence of it on some platform. Also, if it did happen, do you think the news channels would give up the chance to get the viewers from such a massacr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why is the ocean around the Bahamas so turquoise? | [
"Because it's shallow. Less than a hundred meters in most cases. So you don't get that deep, ocean blue"
] | [
"The ocean isn't a stagnant pool, massive underwater currents constantly circulate the ocean. The different colors you see come from various sources, the depth of the water, temperate, algae, mineral content. Like you get that *gorgeous* light blue in the Caribbean because the water is shallow near the islands and ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is a value-added tax and how is it different from a sales tax? | [
"Sales tax is added to sales. Vat is added to each stage of production, and the to the consumer. It’s simply tax that is just passed down until it hits the consumer, put paid at each step."
] | [
"Sales tax is a tax on the transaction, not the item. There's other sorts of taxes, such as a VAT (value added tax) that specifically target goods. The item being secondhand makes no difference to sales tax."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What exactly is lag? | [
"Lag is the time it takes between when you send a piece of data and the other end receives it. This is usually measured in milliseconds. During an online game you need to have the most up-to-date information in order to be able to know where your enemies are and where to shoot. If you had a lag of 250ms that means ... | [
"Maybe let's start with: what is ring tone rap?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
why does feces have nutrients, shouldn’t the body of the animal use those up? | [
"Biologically, animals are far from 100% efficient in converting intake into usable nutrition and energy, and some nutrients animals could use are simply not available to them in certain forms. Also, animals may eat more of a given nutrient than they need and are able to store, so it passes out of them. Third, ther... | [
"A lot of it is water. Or other inedables like bones. It is basically things that our body can not take use of in a meaningful way."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When your first response to hearing a new song is negative, what happens in the brain that makes us start to like it after hearing it over and over? | [
"One theory that explains why we enjoy music is that our brain rewards us for making correct predictions. Being able to predict things had obviously been important for the survival of our ancestors, that's why our brain evolved to be this way. So when we listen to the beginning of a melody, the brain tries to pred... | [
"There was a recent study that determined musical tastes are mostly based on repetition, simply hearing a song multiple times makes you like it. This explains cultural trends in musical tastes. Likewise, food tastes are also based around repetition, once you know what to expect, you begin to like something. It's th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What does 64/32bit architecture means? | [
"A bit is a binary digit. A decimal number like 8376 has four digits. A 32-bit number is comprised of 32 1's and 0's. A 64 bit number has 64 1's and 0's. A 32 bit computer will read and operate on, at most, 32 bits at a time. If your calculation fits within a 32 bit number (about 4 billion in decimal) then that's f... | [
"1024 because binary 1000 if using SI units."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How does antiperspirant deodorant actually stop you sweating? | [
"Antiperspirants contain aluminum salts that will block sweat. When they come into contact with sweat they form a gel that blocks your sweat glands."
] | [
"Cologne is how perfume is marketed for men. Aftershave is for preventing infections after shaving. It may have ingredients that numb skin a bit (so it doesn't hurt that much) and almost all have some fragrance. Deodorant is for killing body odour caused by bacteria that eats sweat. Antiperspirant is a type of deo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How does something get classed as man-made? Doesn’t everything derive from a natural source/material? | [
"If it's put together in a way that would not naturally form without conscious direction, then it's man made There's also every periodic element beyond Uranium, all of which are purely synthetic elements Humanity is metal enough to make completely new atoms that are very very radioactive"
] | [
"There is a lot of debate on the subject. And it very strongly depends on what you define as a creature. Evolution from microbes and proteins in the ocean is the answer to where larger creatures come from. Where the proteins came from is up for debate."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is the common abbreviation for pounds (as in weight or force) lb or lbs? | [
"It's latin. Libra, which was the word for scales (as in the astrological sign), but also the abbreviation for libra pondo, or \"a pound by weight\". & #x200B; Pretty much everything in English you can't figure out the reason for comes from either Latin, Greek, or some form of Middle English. & #x200B;"
] | [
"The pound sign, £, is a stylized capital letter \"L\". It stands for \"Libra\", which is Latin for \"pound\", in the sense of weight. The British pound [in sense of currency] used to be defined as a pound [in the sense of weight] of sterling silver. Hence why the British currency is often referred to as Sterling."... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why do gears multiply forces ? | [
"Energy is force * distance. So, if you have the same amount of energy being transferred, you can increase the force and decrease the distance, or vice versa. When motion is converted via any method, whether it be pulleys, gears, or levers, and energy is not lost in the middle, you can do this kind of conversion - ... | [
"Im not a rocket surgen but I think it has to do with the pitch that the noise puts off. Some people have more sensitive ears than others Edit: grammar"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is the MLB season so much longer than other sports? | [
"It's because baseball is a lot more dependent on random chance than other sports. If a sport was not random at all, you'd expect a better team to beat a worse team every time. But, because all sports are a bit random, you see that sometimes bad teams DO beat good teams. This happens more frequently in baseball tha... | [
"They are, but none have ever been good enough to make it into the majors. In fact, the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB all allow female athletes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why do humans age if our cells are constantly replacing themselves? | [
"DNA is grouped into a whole bunch of [chromosomes](_URL_1_) (strands of it). Each chromosome has a bunch of nonsense (repeating) genes at the end, to basically protect the ends from sticking to other chromosomes and to protect from damage. These nonsense end regions are called [telomeres](_URL_0_). When the cell ... | [
"They refresh their own cells, so it will always have the donor DNA. Cells don't come from a different place in the body. The existing cells just split in two, keeping their DNA intact. The only way to get an organ with your own DNA would be to grow them with stem cells."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do some freeze in terror when presented with danger rather than fight/flight? | [
"I'll note the psychology on this is somewhat speculative. There is an evolutionary basis for this. Not all threats are able to be fought or fled from. A young rabbit may not be able outrun a grown fox and certainly cannot fight it, but it can perhaps avoid being found by holding perfectly still. Other animals will... | [
"It’s your fight or flight reaction kicking in. Your body is getting rid of anything it doesn’t need in preparation to fight or flee out the situation causing you anxiety."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the comment about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why can’t venereal diseases be cleared without medicine? | [
"They can, many people recover on their own. Some people have bad side effects, so the best strategy is to treat everybody, not wait to see it you have severe symptoms. Thet's the advantage of living a \"modern, civilized life\" rather than an \"all-natural life\"."
] | [
"The fact that we do not have a cure for a disease/condition does not mean that the disease itself cannot be overcome. There's no cure for cancer, for example, but people manage to defeat cancer fairly frequently."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why did the United States not immediately enter WWII after France fell to the Nazis? | [
"Three main reasons The u.s was in an economic depression and could not afford it. Americans did not want to die for Europeans issues. America had a huge german community of immigrants who did not want to go to war with Germany"
] | [
"Assuming you mean the US as the \"we\" here, we didn't declare war on anybody at that point. We were not involved in the war at all in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland (the USSR actually invaded Poland 2 weeks later, not simultaneously). At that time, Nazi Germany and the USSR had a mutual non-aggression pact... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
People talk about how in the mid-20th Century a janitor could easily earn enough money for a nice house and a big family. Today, a janitor would hardly be able to afford an apartment for himself. What changed so that the same jobs provided less over the course of half of a century? | [
"Wages have not increased at the same rate as the price of those goods. Back then, the entire mortgage of a house might cost 3 or 4 times your annual salary whereas today it might cost 10."
] | [
"Because of technological and other advancements in development. Economic growth means improvement in our standard of living. 25 years ago, few middle-class families had cell phones or internet. 50 years ago, many didn't have air conditioning or a clothes dryer. 80 years ago, you might not have had a washing machin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Global vs U.S release | [
"This is either a US company or a statement that has been released to the US. Global is used to emphasize everything except the US, because the US is the single largest market for many things that would have a scheduled release."
] | [
"British Empire -- > Post-WW2 / Cold War America -- > British and American pop culture -- > Silicon Valley."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does the body direct blood to certain areas and limit access to others like during a fight-or-flight response? | [
"The blood vessels dilate in the area that needs more blood, and they constrict in the areas that will get less blood."
] | [
"\"Butterflies\" are caused by the release of adrenaline when one is nervous, which pulls blood away from the stomach and sends it to the muscles in preparation to get as far away as possible, as fast as possible. This reduced blood flow, in turn, causes the stomach to temporarily shut down, since digestion is not ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why are artists ever more capable of creating hyperrealistic art than those before them? | [
"Basically Technology. The Technology and Science around painting and drawing increased significantly. Math plays a big role, but also tools do have advanced, finer inks, more consistent, machine-manufactored utensiles. An ever growing supply of tutorials, cheap materials for practice and peer reviews seperating wo... | [
"Iconography. It is a style that people replicated to make their own works seem elevated to the status of the religious icons of the past. In essence, they are made to look \"old timey\" Artists did have the ability to make better likenesses, but the money was in icons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Art and History:"
} |
Whats the difference between necrotizing fasciitis and cellulitis? How can you tell? | [
"Necrotizing Fasciitis is a flesh eating bacteria that eats the flesh under the skin. It’s caused by Staphylococcus, but it’s different. It goes into the connective tissue under the skin, attacks muscle, fat, tissue. Super rare and very life threatening. Cellulitis is a bacterial infection. It’s not a flesh eating ... | [
"If the limb is infected, such as with flesh eating bacteria , there might be no choice but to amputate before the infection spreads."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why is it that there are plenty of tropical small islands throughout the Pacific (Guam, US virgin islands, etc) but there are hardly such islands in the Atlantic ocean? | [
"The pacific ocean is a hotbed for volcanic activity. Under water volcano explodes, creates an island, plants and animals move in. Pretty neat"
] | [
"The Caribbean Islands. Their weather patterns form over the central atlantic, far from any strike areas, so you don't have to deal with radioactive elements blowing in on the wind. They're close to the equator so they'll stay relatively warm in a mild nuclear winter, and they're generally politically unimportant s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is it that humans react slowest to a visual stimulus (.25s) when compared to an auditory (.17s) or a tactile (.15s) stimulus? | [
"More information per second is being processed by the eyes in comparison to the ears and touch. Think about it, there is color, the object in question, peripheral vision, etc etc"
] | [
"Confusingly, it's not short term memory. Acoustic memory is a type of sensory memory (short term memory is after sensory memory). Sensory memory is how long the stimulus lingers. E.g., if you spin a bike wheel around eventually it blends into one. This is because part of the visual stimulus lingers- the spokes are... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why are sprinters more muscly than distance runners? | [
"Sprinters need the muscle to be more explosive and go fast. Long distance is about longevity and I would think less muscle is less energy spent moving it. Explosive strength vs endurance and longevity."
] | [
"Most long distance cyclists don't have really big legs. at all. Track cyclists who compete over shorter distances have big legs. running is the same - sprinters have big legs, distance runners don't"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why doesn’t pencil lead marks under our skin disappear | [
"It's called a \"traumatic tattoo\", here's some info. \" Traumatic tattoos may be classified into abrasive and explosive types. The abrasive form leaves the pigment deposit in the more superficial layers of the skin. Explosive forms of traumatic tattooing usually have a central focus of deeply embedded detritus ... | [
"I don't know in what way you clip them, but I just don't clip further than the white part, otherwise it hurts real bad."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do men's bikes have that high bar (nut bar) and women's bikes don't? | [
"The way it was explained to me was that back in the day all women wore skirts and dresses, so the low bar bikes could accommodate dresses."
] | [
"If you'll notice on a woman's frame, the top bar slopes down, while on a man's frame, it's a horizontal bar. The reason for the downward slope on a woman's bike is so the rider can wear a skirt without it bunching up then stretching around the bar. However, there is no difference in the feel of the ride or integri... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is clown phobia so common? | [
"There was a line in CSI, where a character pointed out kids find clowns creepy. Uncanny valley. Clowns try too hard. Someone simultaneously smiling and unhappy is fundamentally disturbing. Clowns like all comedians are predisposed to mental illnesses such as depression."
] | [
"It's thought to be a form of mass hysteria that is contagious."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What causes the lines on back windshields to defrost/thaw faster than the front windshield? | [
"The lines are a type of heater element baked into the glass whereas the front relies on warm defrost air."
] | [
"Rear Defroster: It's a strip of metal that gets electric current ran through it which then heats up your window. Use it if you have ice or condensation on it Front Defroster: It cycles on your A/C compressor which dehumidifies the air. Use it if you have condensation on your windshield"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why aren't charger/data ports in phones shaped more like a headphone jack? | [
"Headphone jacks aren't really a great design, but they usually work OK if you only have a small number of signals. If you want to use a bunch of signals, making sure that each of them has a solid connection can get tricky. It's just not a great system from a mechanical point of view, and that can result in cruddy ... | [
"For charging a battery you just need two connections. The headphone jack always has at least two (sometimes more for microphones) It is not common to charge via headphone jacks but nothing restricts you to do so. Apple has built a charger to transfer the electrical energy from 5 Volt DC to whatever the shuffle nee... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What causes bees to be fairly calm and passive, but wasps and hornets to be total assholes? | [
"Bees have a large hive that they work together in to sustain each bee. Wasps and Hornets have smaller families and have to be predatory. tl;dr: Socialism"
] | [
"Answer is no. They're not wired to feel anger or vengeance, these are higher-order emotions that generally require mammal-level intelligence to happen (or bird level in some cases, as many birds are smart enough to even have personalities). If the intent of the question is \"why do they sting us?\", a point is th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why do most television DVD sets have analog artifacts on some episodes? | [
"It most likely has to do with what it was filmed with and the quality of the original that is used to master the digital copy."
] | [
"It's because in the USA tv shows have a refresh rate of 24 Hz, where as its 25 Hz in the UK. When U.S. tv shows are aired on UK channels, they are sped up slightly. So it's not just the opening, it's the whole show. Everyone has slightly higher pitched voices too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How does cancer start in one specific part of your body and then spread so quickly? | [
"This doesn't always happen, but can occur with malignant cancer cells. Cancer cells divide and grow uncontrollably despite our body's efforts at preventing this. We can try to regulate growth and kill the cells, but sometimes it's just too much. Cancer cells grow and supply themselves by building blood vessels for... | [
"Doctor do remove those organs sometimes as part of cancer treatment. There are serious side effects, but it's worth it to not die of cancer. However, a malignant cancer will eventually spread through the blood or lymph vessels and infect other organs. At that point, removing the lung or stomach won't eliminate the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Whats "architecture" means in computer engineering? | [
"To put it in true ELI5: You can make a quite literal parallel to the construction of a computer at the lowest level and a building. After the building is \"built\", other people will come in and \"fill the rooms\" - your operating system is interior design, applications are furniture, and the architecture is the b... | [
"Programmer is to construction worker as software engineer is to architect."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
What is the issue with the housing market and why are people saying it’s bad to buy homes? | [
"It would help a lot when you also said about WHICH house-market you are talking about : as I read it it could be New Zealand, Scotland, Canada or where-ever..."
] | [
"It’s because of the uncertainty in the stock market coupled with the stalling of the realty market; people are assuming that this is going to cause interest rates to climb while investment goes conservative. But it’s all projections and guesses."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Economics:"
} |
If coke is so corrosive, how does it not corrode the bottles they put it in? | [
"Different substances react differently. Same reason why damp atmosphere causes iron to rust, but your skin is fine. Plastics in particular are pretty unreactive in nature."
] | [
"Probably not what you're looking for, but I know that plastic bottles don't hold carbonation as well because of the way the molecules bond together compared to glass or aluminum cans."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What is the difference between venomous and poisonous? | [
"Venomous is when something is dangerous when it bites you. Poisonous is something that is dangerous when you eat it or lick it. You could eat a venomous snake quite safely but you couldn’t eat a poisonous one. A poisonous snake can bite you and it won’t kill you but if you bite it it will kill you."
] | [
"The side effects from taking anti-venom can be severe, including serum sickness, shortness of breath, and allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Paraphrased from Wikipedia, they have sources. There's also the economic problem: Anti-venom is expensive. And then there's the logical problem: People will often have... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What is an operating system kernal and what does it do exactly? | [
"The kernel has 4 essential jobs in a system: - Divide memory over running programs and make sure they don't access each other's memory. This also includes things like swapping things out when too much memory is used. - Provide proper access to all the peripherals of the system. - Schedule the many threads that are... | [
"Memory in a computer does not get deleted. Memory refers to the physical hardware that stores data, there are several different types of memory, RAM, HDD, cache, SSD. I assume that you didn't mean what you asked, could you please elaborate."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What is minimalistic music? How it got started? And what are some bands based on that? | [
"I don't think I can explain it 100% correctly as I only learned about it recently. But from my understanding it is a music that is about exploring a moment(some note, sequence of notes) it often repeats the same pattern multiple times with very small changes to see how it sounds. I would suggest having a look at c... | [
"I feel like this depends on the type of songs you're listening to. What music are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
what gives us the feeling of butterflies in our stomach? | [
"It's the sensation of blood being drawn away from 'non-essential ' organs in preparation for a fight or flight response. Your brain has convinced your body this is a life or death situation, so all the oxygenated blood is going to your arms and legs."
] | [
"Plenty of answers to choose from with a quick search, but here's the one I thought was the best ELI5: (credit goes to /u/gotlactose) > When people get scared, their bodies are prepared to run away from the danger. Blood rushes away from parts of our body to parts that are needed to help them run away from the dan... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Can someone please explain to me what exactly is IOT? I read about it a lot but I still couldn't really get it. | [
"It stands for Internet of Things. basically everything is connected to the internet,even your hoo-haa rattler."
] | [
"If you don't have even a 5 year olds level of understanding then why do you want to get into it? If you are actually interested then I can explain some of it, but you won't make money, trust me."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
The need to pee and proximety to the toilet? | [
"It has to do with \"Pavlovs Dog\", basically we're so used to or \"conditioned\" to associate the toilet with urinating."
] | [
"The sound of water gives you the urge to pee. Flushing the urinal cures \"stage fright\"."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what causes servers to crash? | [
"A server has a lot of physical components, and these can fail and cause system problems. Any medium-large company will have a server infrastructure with lots of redundancy, so that one failed component will not cause an outage, or only a very brief one. Often problems are caused by changes. Someone installs an upg... | [
"Because of its popularity the server cant handle all the requests that quick Also the server gets a lot of information from the back end of the website so it would take the server some time to do that"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do chameleons change their color? | [
"Kind of hard to explain with an ELI5, but chameleons don’t do it like other color-changing animals. They have a special layer of scales, and those scales can change the way they reflect light. So the chameleon is changing how close together the light-reflecty bits are, and that changes which colors of light are re... | [
"The only reason reptiles like snakes are brightly colored is to alert predators that they are poisonous. Birds are brightly colored to attract mates. Fish are brightly colored to attract mates and alert predators they are poisonous. Amphibians like frogs are brightly colored to alert predators they are poisonous. ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do SPAM email/calls make money? | [
"The biggest way is simply that occasionally they get people to buy whatever they are selling. It cost very, very little to make a call, and far less than that to send out an email, so even if only one out of every hundred thousand times they get a sale, that can still be worth it. There is also value in the inform... | [
"Spam bots are a common method of malicious online robot. They spam message boards or other internet sites with repeated advertisements (at best, more malicious things at worst). they also participate in phishing scams (where they try to steal your password/information). Those verification steps help cut down on ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How does hitting someone behind their head make them unconscious? | [
"There is nothing special about the back of the head. Any sufficient blow to the head can render you unconscious. There are a few mechanisms at work. First, the physical act of your brain jostling around inside your skull basically disrupts the operation of the brain, causing you to lose consciousness. Secondly, is... | [
"If you dont wear a helment. You dont lead with your head. You use the shoulder or anything that isnt your head.. Wear a helmet.. And then you start to feel like hitting head first might be a workable idea. If boxers didnt wear gloves, There would be a lot less brain trauma too.. Because it would actually hurt to ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Biology/Medicine:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Biology/Medicine:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
why are prime numbers so important? Why are we constantly calculating "new" ones? | [
"They're crucial to mathematical functions used to perform encryption. As computers get more powerful, bigger prime numbers may be required to keep encryption from being \"forced\" open by the sheer computing power we have available. The properties of these numbers make them usable in calculations that are easy to ... | [
"Mersenne primes are a special class of primes that are relatively easy to prove. Now, by relatively easy, I mean compared to another large number near the same value that also happens to be prime. Mersenne primes are in the form of 2^p -1. In other words take 2 to the factor of a known prime and subtract one. That... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Mathematics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Mathematics:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Mathematics:"
} |
Is there a situation when the freeze response would be beneficial (instead of flight or fight)? | [
"The only time I see it being beneficial would be in a scenario where you see a predator before it sees you like if your walking through the woods and cross paths with a cougar or something and it happens to not see or hear you. Freezing still and letting it pass would be beneficial, and instances that you would be... | [
"That would most probably be your body dumping adrenaline into your blood when something happens, the effect is almost instant. Part of the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What exactly makes lips red? And how does it work? | [
"Your blood makes them look red. It's close to the surface because the skin on your lips is very thin, so the color shows more easily."
] | [
"The UV light damages the skin cells, in order to replace the damaged skin blood flow to the affected area is increased which causes the skin to be warm to the touch. I'm pretty sure that's it but feel free to correct me."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
How quickly do the poles 'flip' and what risks both ecological and societal does this pose? | [
"Ecologically speaking, it's a non-issue. In the past five million years the poles have reversed many times ([link to timeline](_URL_0_)). Any species at least a million years old has been through two flips already. Magnetic reversals are common and have no visible impact on the fossil record (aside from making it... | [
"Global warming is what the planet is undergoing as a whole. The increase of average global temperature. Climate change is what could be observed in a specific region. A region could be hotter, cooler, wetter, drier, etc. The worry is that the ecosystems in a region could change too quickly for organisms to adapt a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Environmental Science:"
} |
You can locate an airplane when you hear one with reasonable accuracy. Why is it so much harder to locate a helicopter? | [
"I’ve heard that with bass and lower frequencies you can’t tell where it is coming from. So you could put a subwoofer anywhere in the room and you can’t tell which direction it is coming from. I would assume because a helicopter sounds much lower in frequency the same applies here."
] | [
"Because they recognize things that are not a threat, and they don't recognize people. Think of how comfortable you are around airplanes and helicopters, but what if an alien spaceship came along."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do top-secret classified government documents become declassified? | [
"In some cases, the documents are classified for a certain time only. When the time expires, they are declassified."
] | [
"He'll be arrested for leaking classified documents and face stiff jail time. He will be arrested for leaking classified documents because it is illegal to leak classified documents."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does hearing certain noises (such as nails on a chalk board or, for me at least, cardboard scraping against itself) cause bodily discomfort? | [
"For me, it's people dragging their teeth on their forks while taking bites of food off said forks."
] | [
"One of the most practical benefits of white noise is it can \"cover up\" potentially disturbing sounds without sounding like anything noticeable by itself. So you can go to bed and won't hear ice tumbling in the fridge, the dog's claws going clickclick on hard floors, cars outside etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do sounds cause physical damage to an ear? | [
"You have microscopic hairs in your cochlea (the snail-shaped organ in your inner ears) that are attached to nerves. These vibrate very subtly in order to pick up the sounds you hear. The thing is, quiet sounds are incredibly low-energy. In order to detect the faintest sounds, those hairs need to be ultra tiny and ... | [
"The sound is from liquid inside the cochlea. The hands reflect the sound onto your eardrums, making the sound audible. This works the same with sea shells."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is pan-nationalism? | [
"Essentially pan-nationalism holds the nationalist belief that a nation is the fundamental unit for human life. But unlike what many people think of when they think of nationalism, pan-nationalism does not correspond to established boundaries. Pan-nationalists believe that nations are essentially clusters of ethnic... | [
"Maybe let's start with: what is ring tone rap?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do curse words give us a physical feeling of release when we are frustrated or angry? In other words, why does it feel so good to use them sometimes? | [
"Swearing increases your level of arousal, which is how \"activated\" your body is. You feel more awake, you respond faster to stimuli, your heartrate increases, your metabolism increases, that sort of thing. Certain chemicals, like epinephrine and endorphin flow more heavily - these chemicals can cause a feeling o... | [
"Laughter is a form of communication. When you're with other people, you laugh to let them know you think something is funny. When you're alone, there's nobody to share it with so, unless something is off the charts funny, you normally keep it to yourself."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Linguistics:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Linguistics:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do some fuel pumps pump very quickly while others take forever? | [
"a pump is a mechanical machine, which consumes power and degrades over time so 1) a gas station could save money putting in lower quality pumps or putting pumps which are slower but consume less electricity to run 2) another option is that gas is volatile, it means that its a liquid that evaporates quite easly, s... | [
"It takes a lot of power to start a car. So even if a car battery is able to keep the lights on for days it might not be able to deliver enough power to start the car. If you were running the starter motor for a while you will notice it goes slower and slower as the battery discharges. However you usually only run ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What, in it’s simplest terms, is Pi? | [
"Pi in it's original definition is the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter & #x200B;"
] | [
"Tough question, might as well ask: What is love?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Science:"
} |
Why do our voices get higher when speaking to people we don’t know well or just met? | [
"Low pitch = big animal = more threatening. Higher pitch = smaller animal = less threatening. Using a higher pitch could indicate that you're not interested in posing a threat to the newcomer, creating a more welcoming atmosphere. I don't think this is 100% universal, however. It probably depends a lot on your sex ... | [
"Men socialize by insulting each other but they really don't mean it. Women socialize by complimenting each other, they don't mean it either."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do Orchard Growers periodically chop all their trees down? | [
"Fruit-bearing trees are at peak production and health for about 10 years after they start fruiting. After that, the tree is much more susceptible to disease and pests. Orchards are planted in rotation so there are always productive trees when others need to be culled. The lumber of aged trees is valuable as well, ... | [
"Peanuts are not nuts they are legumes (like peas) They are easier to grow. And don't need an Orchard. Also many nuts are grown in California were there is a serious drout. Peanuts are grown in the south east us and are doing well"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do humans have the desire to be famous? | [
"i think it's because we created and live in a system which values fame and money. So naturally, some people would internalize those values and want attention and fame"
] | [
"I think the drive to copulate is stronger than the drive to be choosy about it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do pharmacists complete 4 years of post-grad schooling learning about drugs but physicians actually pick the drugs to use. | [
"Pharmacists are the last line of defense against a patient taking a drug or combination of drug that may be harmful, especially if that patient is taking over the counter drugs/supplements or filling prescriptions from multiple doctors. Because of this, knowledge of the function of many drugs and potential drug i... | [
"> I assume it's more than just filling pills in a bottle and answering questions. Pharmacists also need to know how every drug interacts, what the appropriate treatment for different types of illness are, and be able to weigh the benefits and side effects of various drugs to determine if a prescription is appropri... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does Alien hand syndrome work. | [
"It’s a symptom of brain damage where your hand moves without your conscious control. It’s thought to when the various parts of the brain that are in control of movement are disconnected. For example your unconscious brain decides it needs to touch your face but the usual associated conscious thought “l’m going to... | [
"What's to explain? Why we have it? How it works?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
The CEO of the company I work for just sold $1.2 million of his company stock. What does that usually mean? | [
"A lot of senior executives get paid a smaller salary in exchange for stock options. A stop option is the right to buy company stock at a set price. The idea being that the executive will only exercise that option (i.e. actually buy the stock) when they can get it for cheap aka, the price they're allowed to buy it ... | [
"Bill has shares of Microsoft stock. This is worth a lot of money when you sell it. For sake of argument let's say he owns 100 million dollars worth of stock. He wakes up one morning and says I want to donate a ton of money to charity. So he says to his stock broker - sell 26 million worth of my stock. That stock i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When action movies use squibs on actors (say, when a henchman gets shot), how do they synchronize it perfectly with the other actor shooting the gun? Is there a complicated gadget used, or multiple takes with trial and error? | [
"As I understand it, there are a few ways it can be done. The first is to film the gunshots and the bullet hits separately, and cut between the two to create the illusion of synchronization. The second way is to have the entire thing choreographed, with the actors firing their weapons and a SFX person triggering th... | [
"It depends on the shot. Sometimes that might actually be a gun firing at a target that's off-camera somewhere. Other times, it could be a prop that's specifically made to have a shell spit out and a belt of fake bullets fed in through some hidden mechanism (if it were me, I'd use a \"sandbag\" to have a tub of cas... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why are people still using Handwritten Signatures to sign checks and contracts when it takes literally less than an hour to forge it? | [
"A signature is not rock solid proof of identity. A signature is more proof of _intent_ - if you can prove (somehow) that I signed the check, it's hard for me to argue that I didn't intend to give you money."
] | [
"Checks are not issued by the government or even by banks. Anyone can make a check, you can go online and order a checkbook with any information you want, or print one out yourself. Given that reality, it doesn't make sense to invest in a lot of security features to protect a few thousand dollars. Instead, checks a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
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