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What is the difference between arts and culture?
[ "Art is an aspect of culture. Art can be anything you can interact with given your five senses: see, smell, hear, taste, touch - such as paintings, music, and even food. Culture is the social behavior, customs, history, religion, and achievements of a society, which can influence and be influenced by art (among ot...
[ "What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
the plot and symbolism in 2001: A Space Odyssey
[ "I'm sure I would've been completely lost if I had not read the book before I saw the movie. I think Kubrick leaves too much as subtext or something because it is not clear at all what's happening to Dave at the end. I believe they call it a masterpiece for the camera work and the long, beautiful spacey special eff...
[ "We just have to remember there's only one of whatever we're looking at We just have to remember there's only one of whatever we're looking at" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the text:", "neg": "Represent the text:" }
Why do fizzy drinks stop fizzing if they are added to alcohol?
[ "They only stop fizzing if you put the alcohol into the carbonated beverage. If you want your drink to stay fizzy, first pour the alcohol into the glass, then the carbonated liquid. I don't quite remember what happens or the proper term, but you upset the carbon dioxide (fizz) when you pour other liquids into it."...
[ "Gas dissolves better in liquid at low temperature so the CO2 in the bottle went into the beer. When temperature goes up the gas leaves the liquid and back into the air space. This is the same reason a coke goes flat sooner if you keep it outside and thats why they tell you to serve it chilled." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the paragraph:", "neg": "Represent the paragraph:" }
Why do some house flies fly around the same spot in a room in squares/triangles as though they are ‘stuck’, often for hours?
[ "I'm not an expert on this topic, but I believe it has to do with the simplicity of the fly's \"brain\". Insects like flies have only a very basic nervous system that's programmed to accept rudimentary inputs, like smell and touch, and use them to search for food, breed, avoid predators, and that's about it. You ca...
[ "They don't fly directly towards the light. They circle around it, going round and round, spiraling closer and closer, until they end up being very close to it. Why do they do that? Well, bugs use the sun and moon for orientation. They try to keep the light source above their heads in the same place, that way they ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the paragraph:", "neg": "Represent the paragraph about Science:" }
Magnetic force is produced due to the motion of electrons. So basically what changes occur when electron is at rest and when in motion resulting in generation of magnetic force?
[ "Magnet force is not “produced” by the motion of electrons. Electromagnetism is a fundamental force, which means it is the bedrock of physics. There is nothing below it that can be explained. Electromagnetism’s effect can be observed by the fact that particles carry charge. Like charges repel and opposite charges ...
[ "The collision take place in a magnetic field. In a magnetic field, charged particles experience a force that is at 90 degrees from both the direction of the field as well as the direction of the movement of the particles. This makes it move in a circle. Basically there is a force on the particle constantly acceler...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why do tracts in the central nervous system mostly have a projection on the opposite hemisphere?
[ "There's a few ideas out there about why the decussation happens, most seem to suggest that it facilitates organization. I had the exact same question for my neuro professors, no one really knows for sure if it provides any sort of evolutionary advantage or if it was just an accident." ]
[ "Which hole? The third ventricle is a hole, not a solid object. When you see it, you're typically looking at negative image models. The three holes go to the lateral ventricle and cerebral aqueduct. If you mean the \"hole\" it isn't actually a hole, but instead the interthalamic adhesion. Why does it form like that...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
What causes us to actually feel physically uncomfortable during “awkward silences”?
[ "Our primitive caveman brains are obsessed with status and belonging. In ancient times, being rejected by your tribe or family meant certain death. We evolved to be hypersensitive to the moods and feelings of others. When we are enduring an awkward social encounter, that primitive caveman part of our brain still fe...
[ "A lot of people use laughter as a defense mechanism when they're uncomfortable or in pain (physically or mentally)" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
Why is it that sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night, extremely thirsty, and the water tastes like it came from heaven?
[ "The body runs on negative feedback loops for pretty much everything. It likes to be in balance. When its out of balance and you need something whatever gives you what you need feels better, tastes better, smells better. If you get too much then it goes out of balance the other way so you feel bad, it tastes bad, ...
[ "I was dehydrated once from the effects of a mystery virus. My throat swelled up to the point where I couldn't eat or drink for days. Once I made it to the hospital their first step was to give me an i.v. of fluids. The feeling was unlike anything. I could actually feel the cold solution, or at least it felt cold, ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question about Science:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Science:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:" }
How do phone companies get the number that are assigned to us, and what happens when a different phone company assigns the same number to someone else (if that's even possible)
[ "I work at a phone company! Basically when you activate a new line the system will pick a random unused number out of a bucket of unused numbers that the company owns. Then, when you cancel that line, we hold it for 90 days in case you need it back, then we put it into the bucket. If you want to change your numbe...
[ "Sounds like some form of caller ID. Perhaps even if you don't pay for such a service, the company pays for a version of it where their name will show up instead of their number, for advertising purposes. Out of curiosity, which company's name came up?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
How do steering wheels run the electrics for media/infotainment controls through the steering column when a steering wheel can turn multiple revolutions in both directions? Don't wires get twisted to the point of giving out?
[ "Clock spring. It’s basically a spiral of wire in the wheel rolled up loosely so it can be wound tighter or looser depending on the direction you’re turning." ]
[ "When you turn the key in a car, it just turns a rotary switch. A switch is just a mechanism that connects wires. If you know the right way to connect the wires, you don't need a switch to do the job. Now, a lot of newer cars make this impossible because of various security features (like chips in keys) but on olde...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
Why people who have organ transplants usually need anti-rejection medication, but not people who have blood transfusions
[ "Blood cells only live 3 months. A blood transfusion is a temporary fix to maintain blood pressure and oxygen levels until your body can catch up to replace blood lost. If the body rejects it a bit it's not a super big deal because foreign cells killed by the body get replaced. Organ transplants are for life. If yo...
[ "In some cases, it's because the undiluted product is dangerously strong and can cause damage to the area if it's not mixed properly. Tacrolimus, used topically at 0.1% or 0.03% on psoriasis and ecsema, can also affect the way the body fights infection since it's an immunosuppressant also given orally after organ t...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
What happens to your cardiovascular system when there’s to much volume in it e.g. when you get saline IV although you haven’t lost any blood?
[ "If you're young and relatively healthy, essentially nothing. Your body recognizes that there's more fluid hanging around than it needs, so your kidneys just excrete it. If you have conditions like heart failure, kidney disease, liver failure, etc, the systems that keep that fluid in the arteries and veins and caus...
[ "To raise your blood sugar, as a mechanism to help you deal with reduced blood volume. Plus it's a thing for you to do while they observe you to make sure you're not feint." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage:" }
How does the data encryption standard (DES) from 1977 work?
[ "The message is broken into blocks of bits, which are scrambled and combined with bits from the secret key (the password, so to speak). The same secret key can be combined with the data again to undo the process. _URL_0_" ]
[ "More bits = slightly slower encryption but more secure, since an attacker has more bits to break. In practice, AES works by dividing the input into blocks and performing some repetitions of transformations on each block. The number of repetitions depends on the key size: 10 repetitions for 128-bit, 12 repetitions ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the paragraph:", "neg": "Represent the paragraph:" }
What is a Tor browser, how does it work and what makes it different to a "standard" browser such as chrome?
[ "Though people say it's safe, it's not impossible to trace you. Many dark web sellers have been caught before. Search \"Australian drug dealer mom\" She got caught." ]
[ "Use a virtual private network anytime you are connecting to a public WiFi hotspot, or when conducting activities online that you do not want to be traceable. I use ProtonVPN. Use NoScript, Disconnect, HTTPS Everywhere, AdBlock, etc. when browsing, and routinely clear your cookies and browser history. Use a non-tra...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:" }
How do the outfits that competitive Olympic swimmers wear allow them to swim faster? Would they not swim faster if they were completely naked?
[ "Olimpic swimmers wear sleek, often spandex/rubber clothing because it doesnt cause any drag. When you swim, everything on your body has to push against the water. So if you cover your hair (swim caps) and genitalia (pants of any form) the water can more easily glide across your body with less resistance. On top of...
[ "As a swim instructor and swim team member, I am an expert on this issue. My expertise is known across the world (don't look me up its classified). Anyway, yes you do sweat, and a lot. Just as you would when playing football or soccer, you sweat while swimming. Lots of people think they aren't sweating because they...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit post:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit post:" }
Why do some spots on concrete appear to not get wet?
[ "I like to keep my own car clean, so I wash it fairly often (Maybe twice a month, depending on how dirty it gets). I typically use soaps that have waxes in them to help maintain the primary coat of wax that I put on a few times a year. I also maintain a healthy coat of tire shine on the tires. What I've noticed ove...
[ "It is not to stop it from drying out. it is to stop it from leaving a mark on things you don't want to write on" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
American/USA History: Why does The USA Democratic Party considered to be the same but not the same as jefferson's party?
[ "> Why? What are the arguments for each possible \"starting point\", and is one of the options \"more correct\"? Jefferson's Democratic-Republican party \"won\". Hamilton's Federalist Party died out. Factions developed in the Democratic-Republican party in 1824. The Jackson faction was what ended up becoming today...
[ "The left side of the assemble was for people who support the liberal or democracy *not modern day democracy but for that time period it was radical*. The right side of the assemble was for those who supported the monarchy. This was during the french revolution." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
Why do you get so tired in office jobs?
[ "Stress is draining and an office environment is incredibly stressful. Restricted behavior, posture, and interactions in a setting made to discourage comfort and relaxation will drain you even if they're not physically exhausting in the way that brick laying is. Add to that the demand for constant focus (or at leas...
[ "You hate your job and don't like being there." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
What exactly is “existentialism”?
[ "Existentialism and having an existential crisis are nearly opposites. An existential crisis occurs in a time period where an individual questions their role in life and purpose. Existentialism is the philosophy that an individual gets to dictate their purpose in life, having no pre-designated fate or role." ]
[ "What you're really asking is, why is aesthetic subjective?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
How does SpaceX get money by sending falcon into space?
[ "Companies and government agencies pay SpaceX to send their satellites and soon astronauts into space. SpaceX is like FedEx for delivering things into space." ]
[ "Why do they need to launch their own rockets if they can hitch a ride with the Americans or Russians?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
Why is it bad to sleep after a big meal?
[ "As long as you're healthy, it's fine to sleep after a meal. The advice to not sleep after a meal is an old wives' tale. That said, if you have a GERD-like condition (reflux and it's ilk), being horizontal with a full stomach might be bad for you and exacerbate symptoms. Otherwise, sleep well and dream of larger po...
[ "Is coffee the first thing you have in the morning when you get up? If so, you're pooping because there is a reflex that empties the bowels when you break your fast, to make room for the digestion of new food, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it's called. Source: 1st year physiology" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Aaarrrr there reasons why we think pirates sounded like this?
[ "It comes from the depiction of Long John Silver by the actor Robert Newton in the 1950 Disney film adaptation of 'Treasure Island.'" ]
[ "Fuck it I say go with the ladybugs. Ladybugs are pretty awesome." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
- Why can you feel when objects are cold or hot even when they are inches away from skin?
[ "Because the air around those objects is also colder or warmer from being near those objects" ]
[ "To understand that, you need to know that there is more than temperature of an item that determines how hot/cold it feels. It is mostly about how quickly heat enters or leaves your body, which is dependent on a property called thermal conduction. Something very conductive, like metal or stone, will feel much colde...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Technology:" }
The difference between runway fashion and consumer products.
[ "Think of it sort of like concept cars at auto shows... they show an overall trend and concept exploration, which will inevitably be toned down once they get some feedback from influences and potential customers. They may stick with the colors and fabrics, but not the outlandish cuts baring body parts not shown in ...
[ "The same reason high end runways have outfits no one would wear in everyday life. It's a form of art and expression." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
why is it ok for the yolk of eggs to be consumed runny but not the whites?
[ "The yolks of eggs are doubly sealed from the outside, reducing the risk of salmonella. Not to 0, so hard boiled eggs are safer, but among the risks in life, runny egg yolks aren't really high risk." ]
[ "Other people have already stated that risk of salmonella is actually very very low. However if an egg IS infected it is likely the yolk that is the problem, not the white. Heating to 165 F is the only* way to make it safe which would also cook the yolk. This is why you will see many menus in the US saying that eat...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why does it normally take time for people to fall asleep, instead of being able to instantaneously?
[ "Many people are focusing on the mechanism of falling asleep, so i'll talk about why you can't fall asleep at will. Remember we evolved from unintelligent beings, that acted on instincts and needs. If you are hungry, you search for food, if you are hot, you search for shade. If an animal could fall asleep at will, ...
[ "Don't confuse tiredness with sleepiness. Your body releases sleep hormones in a particular rhythm. The interval is these releases about 1.5 hrs, and the window is about 10 minutes. If you do go to sleep during that time, you'll probably be out almost as soon as your head hits the pillow. The very worst thing to do...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Sleep and fatigue:" }
Why does the engine of a vehicle only require around 1-3 thousand rpm other than for accelerating?
[ "You do get better gas mileage at 60 for precisely that reason. The ‘how’ it does it is because of the transmission and the gear your vehicle is in." ]
[ "Cars would be required to be more powerful than this. For example if they need to go up steep hills or carry heavy loads. As well as this, they need to have good acceleration in some occasons. Most people will. Expect to go 0-60 in under 8 seconds. To achieve this you would need an amount of power that would easil...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage:" }
When you take oral probiotics or eat yogurt and it goes through your digestive tract, how does that affect your vaginal health?
[ "It doesn't it is pure marketing hype, what these now tend to claim is that the biotics reach your stomach still alive any further effects are not backed up by any scientific evidence at all." ]
[ "You're digestive tract is full of millions and millions of friendly, helpful bacteria that actually aid in breaking down your food and do you no harm... they are a vitally important part of your overall digestive health. Unfortunately, when you take an antibiotic kill off some other, harmful bacteria, it kills off...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why does the US have so many federal law enforcement agencies, many with overlapping objectives instead of having just one or two for all crimes?
[ "Lawyer and former state-level prosecutor here, How: That's the way history happened. The Federal Gov't has limited power, and didn't really do much in the early years, e.g., under Pres. Washington. Each time a need for a specific task would arise, say to investigate counterfeiting, a new police force would be born...
[ "The CIA is the foreign intelligence service of the United States. Their job is to gather, process, and analyze national security information as well as perform espionage. The main difference between the CIA and FBI (of many) is that the CIA operates almost exclusively outside the United States. The FBI is a law en...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
How do poems written in foreign languages still rhyme after translation? Is the rhyming kept at the expense of original meaning?
[ "With difficulty and care by the translator. Alot of lyrics don't translate word for word. Additionally Phrases don't translate culture to culture even if words are the translated. It's up to the translator to pick phrases that match the original intent of the author, rather than the words." ]
[ "Lots of native English speakers also have *some* trouble with song lyrics. So much of the experience of a song has to do with the melodies that perfectly understandable lyrics aren't really a priority for singers." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the sentence:", "neg": "Represent the sentence:" }
If I extend my arm and hold a bucket of water, there is effort occuring. if I hang it on a metal hanger, there appears to be no effort expended. Why?
[ "I'm not sure I'm understanding the question but I'll try anyway. Your muscles basically have two states - contracted and relaxed. To exert any kind of force (or to resists a force, like the weight of a bucket of water) muscles need to contract. For muscles to contract, there needs to be an impulse sent to them. Ea...
[ "\"Sticking to things\" does not require energy. A piece of tape can do the same thing, and you don't need to plug that into the wall. Similarly, holding things up does not require energy. Your arms might get tired holding up a heavy object for an extended period of time, but a table can do it without getting tired...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage about Physics:" }
Why is is so much easier to doze off for a nap than it is to fall asleep at night?
[ "Probably because you feel tired when you nap but when you sleep its because its the designated time to sleep not because your tired" ]
[ "Oh, it is entirely possible to be tired enough that you fall asleep early at home and thus wake up earlier than you intended. The thing is, though, usually people don't just fall asleep at random. It usually is in an inconvenient spot! So even if tired, a person will typically only fall asleep when they actually g...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post about Sleep and boredom:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Sleep and boredom:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
If SF can ban e-cigarettes, why can't they ban real cigarettes?
[ "Big tobacco has money in their pockets, so naturally you’re not going to ban someone whose “donating/gifting” you large sums of money. They can lobby for or against other products, e-cigs can help nurse people off smoking they even have fluids with zero nicotine. Money" ]
[ "Because the alcohol and tobacco companies have more money than God and use some of that to pay lobbyists. Remember the fallout for cigarettes in the 90s? Did you notice they are still around, except Joe Camel can't peddle directly to kids? Yeah." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
if stars are said to have been burning millions of years ago and we only see the light now, how were their constellations that are still correct today
[ "Constellations are just how patterns of stars appear from earth. The stars may not even be close to each other, due to differences in brightness. In the last few thousand years, the shapes of constellations have changed slightly, Anson a few thousand more many will appear different again." ]
[ "Judging from the answers, I don't think I am able to get my point across, so my apologies. I get that what we see happened millions of light years ago and that we might be able to see the forming process of stats and galaxies etc. What I mean is this : Consider that there is a star just outside the observable univ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title about Astronomy:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Astronomy:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:" }
Besides looking ridiculous, why is it that cars with a lot of horsepower can't tow while trucks with less horsepower can?
[ "All the responses so far miss perhaps the most important thing: brakes. With the right gear ratio, even a weak vehicle can get a heavy load rolling, but trucks that are designed to tow have braking capacity that greatly exceeds that of the vehicle alone. A Corvette has big vented brakes to produce impressive stopp...
[ "Because taking 30 seconds to get up to highway speed would suck ass, and depending on what you are doing with the vehicle (hauling cargo, towing, driving up steep hills etc) you might need the extra power. Also there are times when it's fine to go as fast as you want l, like if you like taking your car to private...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
How can certain foods have so many more calories while being so much less material? For example 3 Oreos have more calories than a whole can of tuna.
[ "Oreos are basically sugar and fat. Sugar is 4 calories per gram, protein is 4 calories per gram, fat is 9 calories per gram. 100g of Oreos contains 69 grams of carbohydrate, 20 grams of fat and 5 grams of protein. Which means 100g of Oreo contains around 500 calories. Tuna is mostly water. 100g of tuna contains ...
[ "Calories don't make you full! Fibre, protein, bulky food that takes longer to digest makes you full. Think about 100 calories of celery vs 100 calories of bacon. you'll eat a heck of a lot more celery." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the sentence:", "neg": "Represent the sentence:" }
What would happen in the extremely unlikely event absolutely nobody in the entire USA casts a single presidential vote
[ "it literally can be a coin toss since its a percise tie \"So how would states pick electors in the absence of votes? Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution says that electors are appointed \"in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct\"—in other words, they have some latitude in picking these guys. If ...
[ "Because then Billy Q Jebidiahson, who thinks that Congress is the name of a person, will be forced to vote or he won't have money to pay for his ICP ticket. He's likely to fill out the ballet randomly. This would not be good for our political system." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
How are dinosaur footprints fossilized? Wouldn't the mud or soil that they were formed in get washed away in rain or some other quick erosion?
[ "The vast, vast majority of footprints do get eroded away. Actually getting fossils is vanishingly rare. In order for it to happen, some layer of sediment (from a flood, or volcano, or whatever) has to cover over the footprints (which have to be stable enough not to get obliterated by this), and then that layer ha...
[ "The soft parts of animal bodies don't fossilize. But it is possible that after an animal dies, it could become covered with other material like ash or silt or mud before the soft tissue rots, and even after it's organic material has vanished, it's \"shape\" might be left as a distortion between the layers of mater...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
What is happening to my body when withdrawing from an SSRI results in cold night sweats?
[ "Having some hardcore withdrawals is what it’s doing. SSRI’s are known to potentially kill people that just quit them cold turkey. So if you think missing one dose is bad imaging not taking it for a couple weeks." ]
[ "Most likely it's withdrawal. When the body relies on lots of calories and carbohydrates it freaks out when the supply is reduced. You may want to consult with a doctor in case there's an underlying medical issue causing the symptoms. Right off the top of my head I know a drastic change in diet if you're diabetic c...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit text:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Health and Wellness:" }
Why is it that say I'm using a gel ballpoint pen (Pilot G2 Gel - not sure if it matters) even though there's ink in the pen, on some parts of the paper, no ink comes out but then after writing somewhere else, there's ink?
[ "Paper was too slick. Those pens need friction to move the ball at the end of the point and transfer ink to the paper. If the ball doesn’t catch on the paper and move, no ink. Also gel pens have thick ink so it doesn’t always come out at the same pace." ]
[ "I'm not 100% sure, but I believe temporary markers have an additional chemical in them that keeps the ink from holding on to the surface, while permanent markers do not. The reason I think this is because if you draw a line permanent marker, then draw over it with an erasable one, it will allow both marks to be er...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage:" }
Why are electric car battery estimates so much more accurate than laptop and phone battery estimates?
[ "Have you edited your laptops critical battery settings? They tend to toss themselves into hibernation when they hit a predetermined critical level of battery by default, usually 4-7% at factory setting." ]
[ "Two things are happening. First, it is not easy to tell how charged a battery is. The only thing you can really tell from a battery is the voltage. From that, and previous study of the battery, software in the phone and the battery can estimate the remaining charge. Secondly, as the charge in the battery gets low...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
What does it mean to “seek asylum” and does it justify people crossing the US border illegally?
[ "Asylum is a legal request to stay in another country because you fear violence in your original country. It was originally intended for persecuted peoples (eg you would be killed for racial or religious reasons.). However, in the US the Supreme Court established precedent that a woman fleeing domestic violence cou...
[ "Refugees and asylum seekers are requesting legal permission to stay in a country, because of problems in their home country. Illegal immigrants are staying in a country without permission." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
What is the purpose of the eyes iris and why does it's colour vary among individuals?
[ "The iris controls the amount of light let into the eye. When it's brighter out, the iris is larger making the pupil smaller and letting in less, but light. When it's dark, the iris is smaller, making the pupil bigger and letting in more light. & #x200B; The color is due to melanin (a brown/black pigment that also...
[ "They dissect the eyes and study the structure and types of receptors that they have. If the receptors react to ultraviolet light then the animal can see in that range of the light spectrum." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
How do people depict dinosaur sounds despite not knowing what they actually sound like? Or do they just guess and just go with it?
[ "So animal sounds, like the human voice just rely on air running past/through some kind of resonator or 'voicebox'. I remember in a highschool biology lesson we got a pig's lungs and heart to dissect as a class demo, and the teacher showed how the squeal /grunt could be replicated by using a hand pump to pass air t...
[ "We don't, really, any more than we know what Ancient Greek or Latin sounded like. All we can do is make a rough guess based on how modern language sounds, but that's pretty inaccurate since language changes so much over the years. We have to use something to speak it though, so we just guess. If we had a time mach...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage about Linguistics:" }
Why is it that the planets in our solar system were formed very quickly (within 1/2 a billion years) but we havent had any new planets formed since then?
[ "Because the matter in the protoplanetary disk got used up." ]
[ "There are various methods, such as using computer models of stellar life cycles, but the most tangible way is simply that we know that other things that probably formed around the same time as the Sun were formed around 5 billion years ago. It's likely that the entire solar system (the Sun and the planets) formed ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query about science:", "pos": "Represent the passage about science:", "neg": "Represent the passage about Astronomy:" }
When a large company is broken up via anti-Trust litigation, how is it decided who owns the new, smaller companies?
[ "The same people who owned the larger company get an equal percentage of each of the smaller companies." ]
[ "The new owners take control of the company and run it as they see fit. Often, this will involve some restructuring - perhaps laying off employees, hiring new ones, selling assets, or buying new ones. In the case of a merger, assets and employees deemed to be redundant may be let go (for example, the newly merged c...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:" }
Why do organisms that live in prolonged darkness slowly lose their vision?
[ "You mean as an individual or as a species? Individually, an animal born into darkness can permanently lose their vision. Their brains never develop the ability to process their visual stimuli. There are some sad but interesting studies done on cats about this. If an animal learns to see correctly but then spends t...
[ "Slow movement conserves energy. This allows some species to eat very calorie deficient food but still survive. Also tends to be associated with long life." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why are birds attracted to shiny objects?
[ "The general theory is that birds are not attracted to shiny objects as a whole but a couple species have a higher tendency to find shiny things and use them to attract mates. The idea of \"thieving magpies\" has more or less Been proven not to be true." ]
[ "Because they have a better chance of not being eaten by birds, most of which sleep at night." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the comment:", "neg": "Represent the comment:" }
Why when we do a relaxation / meditation before sleep we feel a tingling in any part of the body that we want and, at a certain point, we stop feeling the body and the relative position of each part of it?
[ "I think you're describing your body paralyzing you in preparation for bed. So in R.E.M. sleep (if you don't sleepwalk), everything except your face (and breathing muscles) is paralyzed. There can be a sort of tingling sensation during this process (can vouch as both a wake-induced lucid dreamer and a frequent exp...
[ "I heard this explained by the late SN Goenka - founder of Vipassana meditation in the West. He claims it's not that the thoughts create the itch, it's just you becoming aware of them at that time. You have a a tremendous amount of sensations occurring all over your body all the time, but your brain filters out sti...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the post:", "neg": "Represent the post:" }
when you get surgery or any other kind of major cut on your skin, how do the blood vessels and nerves know how to line themselves back up when its healing?
[ "They don't really. There is some angiogenesis, where new blood vessels are built. They may or may not cross back across and connect with other blood vessels. If they do, it's just them growing until they bump into other vessels. It's not like a bunch of hoses that have to get reattached to all their other halves. ...
[ "> Does it still have feeling? If the nerves are able to be reattached then yes. Likely it will take some time for them to heal together but a good surgery with a viable part can result in near total restoration of function. > If you were on an operating table and the doctor sawed your entire arm off at your shoul...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title about Biology:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Biology:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Medicine:" }
How do they know when it’s time to repair a highway overpass or bridge before it’s too late?
[ "Proper and timely inspections are the key. You check for metal stress and deterioration. It’s easier to do minor repair than to build a new bridge. Unfortunately, there’s “never” enough money or resources to keep up maintenance but you can better believe there’s enough resources to float a bond election to pay fo...
[ "A pothole in an airport Runway would have catastrophic results for a plane that strikes it while Landing. The runways are regularly checked year-round to make sure that there are no obstructions or surface damage that could potentially impact a plane as it takes off or lands" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
How were 2 countries able to discover and build nuclear weapons from scratch, simultaneously during the 1940s but most countries today can't build them without decades of effort?
[ "The US threw an assload of money and resources at the problem. The Manhattan Project budget was over $20 billion (2019 dollars) and employed over 100k people. The US also had the advantage of not having to worry about other countries boycotting or embargoing them for building the bomb. Countries these days can fa...
[ "The US threw an absolutely astronomical amount of money and resources at rocket technology in the 1950's and 60's. It was, by far, the highest priority in US defense R & D for a decade or more. A space program isn't something you can buy off the shelf, even in 2018. Just building up the institutional knowledge tak...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit text:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit text:" }
Why do offshore oil rig leaks take so long to stop?
[ "So part of it is that Taylor energy basically lied about the amount of oil still leaking. Taylor Oil said it was leaking 3-4 gallons a day, but the government is saying it could be close to 4,600 (or 71,000 I don't know). Oil wells in the ocean need pipes to bring the oil and natural gas from far below ground to ...
[ "The spill wasn't very large and will be easy to clean up. Additionally the company responsible had agreed to pay clean up costs. Land spills aren't as bad as water spills." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:" }
Why for most sports Olympic gold is the top achievement, while in boxing Olympic games are considered an amateur level?
[ "Because most Olympic sports don't have the potential for their athletes to earn hundreds of millions of dollars. If a top pole vaulter could make $80m by going head to head on pay-per-view with another top pole vaulter, nobody would care about Olympic pole vaulting." ]
[ "Most of the best male American athletes choose to play sports other than Soccer. Women's soccer is a top dog sport by comparison and attracts some of the best athletes." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
Credit Card interest
[ "A credit card is basically a short term high interest loan to you. The average rate for a new cardholder with no credit history is 19.24% APR (annual percentage rate). So if you buy something with a credit card, that money is being loaned to you, and that interest rate is applied every month that you go without pa...
[ "Very briefly it sums to about this Accounting - management of money and numbers / finance - analysis of market for investment" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the text:", "neg": "Represent the text:" }
Why did people come to the conclusion that smiling in photographs was the best way to take a picture?
[ "When photography was first, um, _developed_ it was a sloooow process. So the best way to get a non-blurry photo was for the subject to sit as still as possible while the exposure was made. That “still as possible” posture would have likely included a closed-mouth, reasonably somber face. As the speed of the proce...
[ "There was a very brief period from the invention of cameras to the invention of photoshop where you could have good proof that someone existed. Other than that, not so much." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:" }
Are human beings still evolving?
[ "Yes. Just in different ways now. What used to be considered a quality of survival is different. What is “weak” and “strong” has changed, so the process of natural selection is not the same as adaptive animal species. We have medicine. Technology. Public health management. Big muscles and tall height don’t inevitab...
[ "Evolution. Wisdom teeth were useful when we had bigger jaws. They aren't much use now and often cause problems. Humans are now more and more often not getting wisdom teeth. Congrats. You are more evolutionarily advanced than your sister." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
How do insects breathe?
[ "It's pretty varied, across different insects. The common characteristics are that air enters the body via spiracles (basically holes in the exoskeleton, sometimes valved) and then flows through trachea (a network of breathing tubes) to the entire body. Entirely separate system from circulation. & #x200B; This is ...
[ "The ocean is full of creatures who do not have lungs. Also, insects don't have lungs, but they have holes on their bodies where the Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide exchanges take place. tl;dr lungs aren't required to breathe, but they're a very efficient way to do so." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
Why does your body not allow food to come in when you’re sick?
[ "If it's viral, the lining of your stomache will likely be irritated. Eating and digesting the food would only irritate it further so your body expels the food. It's your body's way of protecting you from harm down the road. Imagine a small cut on your arm as the irritation in your stomache, and eating/digesting fo...
[ "Because the body stores fat and will only use it for emergencies, so it doesn't really feel pleasant. Your stomach tightens up, immune system weakens, and other rough shit happens to your body. It's better to just eat less instead of not eat at all." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query about Health and Wellness:", "pos": "Represent the document about Health and Wellness:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
why is it when a person feels a lot of pain and/or sudden coldness/hotness their immediate reaction would be yelling/shouting?
[ "Just guessin here. But as humans are social group creatures. When you are in a group and you get hurt sitting there quietly isnt going to net you any group assistance. I can imagine the ones that didnt cry out wouldnt get the help they needed to survive, thus removing them from the genepool? Not an expert on the m...
[ "They don't really, feel more or less pain. They just don't know how to cope with it. Kid doesn't know what is happening, so it cries, sobs, and vocally express his/her feelings. But adult know what the pain is, he knows why it is happening. And will treat is as annoyance as opposed to life or death situation." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question about Biology:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Biology:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:" }
if someone is a citizen of 2 different countries, do they have 2 different passports?
[ "Yes. Passports are issued by each country separately, there's no such thing as a \"multiple country\" passport." ]
[ "Yes you can. Depends on whether each country you're a citizen of allows it. But if they do, and you are eligible for citizenship, there's no particular reason you can't have any number of citizenships." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the comment:", "neg": "Represent the comment:" }
Why does it sometimes physically hurt when bright light hits your eye?
[ "Pain is just your brain's way of telling you something needs to be addressed. you cut yourself: *ouchies*, better get a bandaid get too close to fire: *ouchies*, better move my hand away with that in mind, bright lights can damage your eyes. especially if it's sunlight. the physical pain is your body's way ...
[ "Is it blinking? Probably a plane. Is it not blinking? Probably a satellite. Is it daytime? Probably glaucoma. Have you gone and rubbed your eyes really hard for a minute? Stop doing that. Is it daytime and the dots are moving in waves? You might have parasites in your eye. Is it daytime and you've recently had las...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why does it take 24 hours for muscles to start hurting after a workout? Why not straight away?
[ "This is called [delayed onset muscle soreness](_URL_0_) there are basically 3 theories 1. Micro-trauma and muscle fiber breakdown from the exercise itself that hurts and then causes the muscles to rebuild stronger. 2. Lactic acid buildup that damages muscles in a delayed fashion. 3. Enzyme damage which damages mus...
[ "When you lift weights, microscopic \"tears\" form in the fascia of your muscle tissue. This is why you are sore the next day. The way muscles grow is through \"muscle recovery\": the tears fill up with new muscle cells, and the muscle is larger as a result. Think of it like scar tissue. So the answer would then be...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
What are shepherd tones ?
[ "Shepard tone: sound loop made by a series of multiple sine waves rising one after another, eventually one of them reaches a point where it drops an octave, leaving the others to continue rising, they then follow the same pattern (drop an octave, rise again), creating the illusion of a never ending pitch increase. ...
[ "What do you mean on them? The signs, the walls, floors?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
Why is it common amongst animals to give multiple births but not in humans?
[ "Basically quantity vs quality. Animals that give birth to multiple babies because more babies means a better chance that some will live to reproduce while animals, like humans, tend to be much more involved in the growth of the child ensuring they live on to reproduce e through care and protection." ]
[ "They are more like fraternal twins, so they have as much in common genetically as normal siblings. Dogs release multiple eggs during ovulation, whereas humans usually release only one, which is why multiple births are the norm in dogs and not humans. It's also possible for there to be two or more fathers to a litt...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
why does your skin make lumps when your come into contact with something your allergic too and what is it trying to do?
[ "What you're describing is hives, or urticaria. Come into contact with an allergen > histamine is released under the surface of the skin > inflammation and fluid accumulate under the skin > said \"lumps\" form. As far as what it's trying to do.. the intention of the histamine release is to help the body deal with t...
[ "I think it's because there isn't as much blood in ur hands because the warmth is needed in more important organs, so there is less protection around nerves?? I'd like to know if I'm wrong though" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query about Health:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:" }
Why are prices/value in developed countries (US, almost Europe, Qatar etc) higher than other places?
[ "In simple terms it's simply what you can afford. They're not going to charge $5 for something when that's the weekly wage. The price difference varies I a single country too, take the UK for example, go up north and a Mcdonalds meal is cheaper than places down south. This is also the same for fuel prices." ]
[ "It's not just games and software. The PPP - purchasing power parity - of australia is 166% of the US level, which means that all things in australia is on average 66% more expensive there compared to the US (only norway is higher). Reasons that causes a high PPP that apply to australia: High transportation costs -...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why do humans live longer than most other species on earth?
[ "Interesting trivia related to this. Almost all mammals get about 1 billion heart beats per lifetime, humans excluded (we get 2-2.5 billion.) _URL_2_ _URL_1_ _URL_0_ > Among mammals, there is an inverse semilogarithmic relation between heart rate and life expectancy. The product of these variables, namely, ...
[ "Human races aren't as different from each other as breeds of dogs are." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage:" }
How do those electronic scales work that calculate your body fat percentage, water weight etc as well as your weight?
[ "Fat, water, muscle, etc all have different levels electronic resistance. These scales send a small electronic shock (so small you can’t feel it) through the pads you stand on. This shock travels through your body and are read by the pads on the other side. Depending on how much fat/water/muscle is in your body the...
[ "> Does it have to do with my height/weight? You got it, well actually it normally is based on weight and age. It has everything to do with height and weight. These apps that tack calories do not really have any idea how many calories you are actually burning, they just guess based on the stress of the exorcise, th...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
What makes a vehicle a PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle)?
[ "It's actually an administrative category that got turned into a kind of cringy marketing term. PZEVs are a kind of weird netherworld of varying powertrains, including hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles. In particular, they represent vehicles that may be net carbon-neutral, but which emit other compounds (e.g. s...
[ "Power plants are a lot more efficient than even the most highly-tuned gasoline engine. Also, a growing number of power plants around the world release little or no carbon (e.g. wind, solar, nuclear)." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the title:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
If we have the ability to cultivate and grow our own food as well as being able to create it in laboratories, why is world hunger still a problem?
[ "There is enough food right now to feed everyone in the world. Hunger is a local issue caused primarily by distribution problems, and the main cause of these problems is local disorder, such as wars and bad government." ]
[ "It really depends on how we distribute resources as a global community in the future. Currently food is destroyed to manipulate the market. In a perfect world, those resources would go where they are needed. Capitalism and urban development has turned our social structure on its head, so to speak. Humans used to b...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query about Agriculture and Economics:", "pos": "Represent the document about Agriculture and Economics:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
why do animals like birds and chicken have twitchy head movements but humans can move theirs smoothly?
[ "[Actually birds can certainly keep their heads very smooth](_URL_0_). Much smoother than humans I'd say. Their eyes dont move so they rely on the position of their heads to maintain a clear picture." ]
[ "My best guess it's exactly for focusing on sounds around you. Leftover muscle from the good old times when we needed to be careful with clever dinosaurs that prowled on us. I can wiggle them independently too. When there's music, I wiggle them in the beat, along with my eyebrows and nose. I can also move my scalp...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the paragraph:", "neg": "Represent the paragraph about Biology:" }
During the Emergency Broadcast Systems "This is only a test" that we all hear on our tv's and radios from time to time, is there an actual purpose for those loud, buzzing tones?
[ "Yes, to get your attention. They are distinct and annoying so will be more easily noticed if you weren't already paying attention to the broadcast." ]
[ "FCC rules require them to announce their frequency and call sign periodically. Beyond that, it's also a matter of marketing. To remind you what station you're listening to." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Music:" }
why can you not get the same cold/virus twice, how are antibodies so powerful?
[ "What we see as \"being sick\" is often the body's way of getting rid of diseases. This is part of our innate immune system, but it doesn't always work so well. Once your body makes antibodies, that's part of the adaptive immune system. The antibodies \"tag\" the virus so that killer T-cells can get rid of them. So...
[ "Plagues arent new by any means, we just started living in very large comunities alot more recently, thus plague effects are much more noticeable on a global scale Our immune system consists of anti bodies that you form when youre young, or that you get in the form of a vaccine, thus, when a new plague to wich you ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post about Medical:", "pos": "Represent the sentence about Medical:", "neg": "Represent the sentence:" }
When working out, is it good, bad or no impact on the result, if you get lactic acid build up?
[ "Generally bad. Lactic acid buildup causes muscle cramping. It's usually as a result of anaerobic exercise, such as weightlifting, but it can be caused by poor condition and muscles being starved of oxygen due to the lungs not working as well as they should. It will have a direct impact on the outcome of your exerc...
[ "I believe the body releases hormones that make your physical well being better after exercise and thus not having those endorphins for a while will cause withdrawal like symptoms. They improve your mood, circulation, sexual hormone intensity and also stimulate your metabolism and digestion so that your body is awa...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit question:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
about ghrelin: how did the human kind manage to develop this sort of scheduled hormone production if our ancestors were basically opportunists their whole lives and ate only when the food was around which was random and wasn't easily available back then?
[ "Because food was easily available during human and proto-human evolutionary history. Humans were hunter-gatherers and only a few hours of searching would yield each day’s food." ]
[ "Because it contains stuff that are actually real important for are survival, tho in moderate doses. For the entire human history it has been a constant struggle to get enough of these stuff, like carbohydrates and sugar. So the brain is hardwired to eat as much of this stuff as possible. But in the last 50-60 year...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
- Why did humanity create new languages when they migrated? If we all spoke the same language wouldn’t international communication be much easier?
[ "It's not as though they did it consciously. Language is always in flux, the English we use now is very different from that of 100 years ago even. Of course, in the past groups in distant places would have had very little contact with each other, so language naturally diverged over time to the point where even if t...
[ "most of the time, these were countries that had been interacting for hundreds of years or more. Trading and such mostly. There would always be a few people who knew the other language. Or who were pretty good at learning it quickly. There were certainly some mistakes made in translations over the years. Some that ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
How does anxiety medication work?
[ "Ssris aren't really for anxiety, but are prescribed for it. I'm gonna ignore them though and skip right to benzos. So benzos or drugs in the benzodiazepine family work by increasing the output of gaba in the brain. Gaba is an inhibitory neurotransmitter so it inhibits activity in certain parts of the brain. For an...
[ "You can't cure the sickness, but you can treat the symptoms. That's all these medicines are doing. It provides some relief." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:" }
why is gasoline prevalent on lighter engines (cars, motorcycles) while thicker fuel is prevalent in bigger and heavier engines (trucks, ships)?
[ "Because in compounds, energy is stored in the bonds between atoms. In carbon chain fuels, the lighter the fuel, the less the amount of carbons are in one molecule of the fuel. This means that less energy can be gained from only seven bonds being broken for example when the fuel is ignited. The thicker fuels have m...
[ "Diesel isnt gasoline at all, it's kerosene. There aren't really \"dregs\" left over after refining. It doesn't work that way. Diesel fuel sees application in many different engines." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:" }
What are imaginary numbers and what are they used for?
[ "an imaginary number is SQRT(negative something), we use the square root of -1 as i to be the main unit. They exist because in some real world math problems (like circuit design and a few higher order engineering problems) then exist as you go through the math, you end up with something where you need to take the...
[ "Isn't it sine, cosine, tangent, and cotangent? They are called trigonometric functions. I am certain they have pretty good, intuitive explanations of what trigonometric functions are all over the web!" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the passage:", "neg": "Represent the passage:" }
Why does it look like other planets get hit by meteors/asteroids a lot more than Earth?
[ "The Earth and Titan are the only planetoid with a significant atmosphere. The reason is that most of them are either too light to keep an atmosphere, or doesn't have a magnetosphere to protect the atmosphere from solar radiation. The Atmosphere will create friction with any asteroid which gonna decrease their size...
[ "Asteroids are not \"made of iron\". Some might contain iron, some might even be mostly iron and theoretically you could find one that's 100% iron, but that is absolutely not the norm. An asteroid is basically a rock in space that's not orbiting the sun or a planet. An asteroid can literally come from *anywhere* in...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the post:", "neg": "Represent the post:" }
Sometimes when we look at a clock, the second hand looks like it just went backwards and then move forwards again.
[ "It's called saccadic masking. Basically, your eyes go blind throughout the day and you don't even know about it. This guy explains it better than I can: _URL_0_" ]
[ "So you know how people are sometimes talking about how many 'fps' or 'frames per second' they get on their games? Well, videos have fps too. If a wheel turns less than halfway between each frame, it'll look like it's spinning forward. If it turns more than halfway though, then we'll see an image of a wheel, then a...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
Why does a little pee fall out only once you've done your pants back up? No matter how long you wait, wiggle or dance?
[ "Your urethra has a little U-bend in it near the base. Try putting a finger down around the back of your testicles and your thumb over the top of the base of your dick and gently pull it forward. It will straighten out the U-bend getting the excess urine out. You'll probably still dribble urine in your pants becaus...
[ "It seems to come as a surprise to my dog, every time he farts the noise spooks him. Also do you go sit on the toilet or go outside every time you fart?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:" }
How hot can you drink?
[ "Two answers for two questions. Question A: What’s the hottest liquid temperature that a human could consume without hurting themselves? Answer A: About 104-122 degrees Fahrenheit (AKA 40-50 degrees Celsius). At around 47 degrees Celsius, you’ll feel it, though. Question B: What would happen if a human drank a liqu...
[ "What do you want to know about them exactly?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
Why does the color black go with everything? Is there a scientific or color-theory explanation for this or....???
[ "Black is considered a neutral color. Grays, whites, browns and blacks are neutral and tend to go with most colors. Typically certain neutral values look best with either corresponding or completely opposed values, but since black is just one value, it can go with everything." ]
[ "Its not scientific but its not just random or because its tradition either. They are chosen because they \"go well together\" the combinations taste good to a lot of people. Generally speaking opposites attract. There is some scientific basis for why some of this is true but there is no way to measure or quantify ...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the text:", "neg": "Represent the text:" }
how are seashells formed
[ "They are made by animals. For certain animals, the shell is literally a part of their body. They make it by the same biological processes that you make flesh and bone, and other parts of your body... which is to say, the animal basically just does nothing but stays alive, and the shell grows as they grow." ]
[ "The bacteria fungus and all other manner if creatures eat you, your energy transfers to them." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the answer:", "neg": "Represent the answer:" }
Why do all the other rocky planets in photos look covered in craters from meteors, yet earth doesn’t seem to have any?
[ "Thinner or lack of atmosphere and no precipitation/flowing water on their surface. First, anything that is smaller than one of those Extinction event asteroids that are larger than a bus burns up in our atmosphere. There are several factors (size, speed etc.), but to generalize. Anyways, most of the meteors that ...
[ "I believe this was front page the other day, from what I got off of there, pretty much nothing. The earth has an unusually large moon, in comparison to most planets, and if something were to collide with it, it wouldn't move or explode or anytihng of that nature. We would actually prefer to have an asteroid hit th...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query about Science:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit post:" }
How the poison in/on an animal doesn't harm the animal itself?
[ "It's not usually located in a place that can be damaged by the poison. Humans are the same way, we have germs and other things in our digestive system that if they made it back up to our stomachs, we would be seriously ill. But our bodies are designed to keep things separated. & #x200B; That's why getting stabbed...
[ "Venom and poison are different. Venom is not 'poisonous' so you can eat it and it is fine. It has to be injected into the blood stream to harm you." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
What happens neurologically when dominant hand is switched?
[ "So... The science isn't 100% clear on this one, but the short answer is that handedness is a habit, just like driving or typing. If suddenly your keyboard gets rearranged, you'll feel really weird using it until you eventually get used to it. Neurologically? I'm not sure what you mean. Your brain doesn't flip back...
[ "Handedness is more about the way your brain is wired, than about the qualities of your limbs themselves. So a right handed person would most likely still feel more comfortable using their right hand. A common theory is that handedness is related to where your brain does most of its fine motor control. For most pe...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
why are solar-powered cars not a thing? think of the battery recharge on a sunny day sitting in rush hour!
[ "We currently don't have the technology to make solar panels that are small enough, yet powerful enough, that they are useful for everyday driving. Right now, the solar panels would be heavy enough, but not provide enough energy, that they would make it harder to drive. If we get better solar panel technology, we...
[ "Well the number one reason is solar is still relativitly new, and it's just not that cost effective to build solar right now (you don't make money hand over fist, so investors are not pouring the kind of money such a project would require). Number 2 is that it's not that east to transport energy, so the users need...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit title:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit text:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit text:" }
How do languages in the same "family" split off from one another?
[ "There are a few things at play: physical distance, new people learning a language and dropping more complicated elements, interaction with other nearby languages, and a corollary to that last point, takeover of an area by an outside force. Modern English, of the Germanic family, has had a lot of contact with Roman...
[ "Many languages are related, so it's possible they could have the same homonyms as each other. For example English is a germanic language with a lot of French influence, which is a romance language. And both germanic an romance languages are branches of the indo-European language family. This means they're all desc...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
How do vinyl records play music? Like how does a needle spinning on grooves give off a specific lyric or song?
[ "A sound is a vibration. If you can vibrate the air exactly the same way, it sounds the same. & #x200B; Your vocal chords are vibrating the air that passes over them when you speak. Now take a speaker on a stereo. If it vibrates using the exact same measurements as your vocal chords, it can replay exactly what you...
[ "When you drop a stone in calm water, ripples spread from the point it entered the water, and when something makes a sound, similar waves spread through the air, you just can't see them. If you put a microphone near the sound source, these waves will vibrate the diaphragm in the microphone, which is attached to a m...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the document:", "neg": "Represent the document:" }
Why does a popcorn pop while others corn do not?
[ "Popcorn is harder than other corn kernels. The outside keeps water from escaping, causing kernels to explode. Other grains like sorghum and quinoa will pop though!" ]
[ "Why do I feel as though my bottles of water don't do this but instead just freeze normally in the freezer?" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the query:", "pos": "Represent the answer:", "neg": "Represent the answer:" }
Why are there “acquired tastes”? Why do some things, like beer, whiskey, and food delicacies take a few tries to become palatable?
[ "These are my observations. It might be different for different people, and for different foods or beverages, but in general you can just get used to anything. Sometimes it also just takes a little while to get over the initial shock of an exotic taste that might be unpalatable or even painful, like in very sour or...
[ "Everyone starts off with more taste receptors on their tongue. So kids tend to have way more taste receptors than adults do. Everything tends to taste stronger to them as a result. A lot of vegetables are bitter and we have a natural aversion to bitter tasting things because it's associated with poison. A vegetabl...
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the question:", "pos": "Represent the argument:", "neg": "Represent the argument:" }
How can manure/hay self combust in hot temperatures even though they're nowhere near 200+ degrees celsius?
[ "hay is more than just dried grass... it’s actually undergone a natural curing process which locks in nutrients and makes it keep better. This happens because grass doesn’t die the moment it’s been mowed...its cells (and certain microbes on it) continue to respire, and this creates some heat. now imagine this gras...
[ "If you are at sea level, your pot of water isnt getting any hotter than 100 degrees, unless its a pressure cooker. Oils can be way hotter without evaporating. Something cooks a lot faster at 300 degrees than at 100." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit document:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit document:" }
how does cancer kill?
[ "Cells from the cancer invade other organs and start the off growing the wrong cells in the wrong place. When you hear people panic that cancer is found in the lymph nodes, it’s because the lymphatic system quickly spread that shit all over. So you end up with the wrong cells growing in other organs, slowly making...
[ "just think about what's actually necessary in order to reproduce." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit text:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit text:" }
what constitutes how "full" you feel?
[ "There are actually a number of different hormones and enzymes that affect satiety. These are released and picked up by the nervous system, causing your brain to cease the feeling of hunger. Release of these hormones/enzymes happens following physical stretching of the stomach, when certain pH levels are reached, e...
[ "have you ever taken very hardcore drugs? that but written down on a subreddit." ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit query:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit post:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit post:" }
Why do baby deer have spots, but adult deer don’t?
[ "Baby deer are left alone while their mothers find food. The spots on their back help them blend in and stay safe from predators because from a distance the spots look like sunlight filtered through trees." ]
[ "Here are a few ways to tell the two apart: 1. When butterflies land on something, their wings will be up vertically; moth wings will be flat horizontally 2. Butterflies are usually active during the day, while moths are more active at night There are some exceptions to this rule, but for the most part it works" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the Reddit post:", "pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:", "neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:" }
Why do flies keep trying to sit on you when you swat at them and don't see you as a threat like most animals would?
[ "I flies brain is very small. Think of it like a video game A.I. the fly has default reactions to any given sensory input and can and will repeat its actions over and over until different sensory readings cause a different sequence of actions. Flies sense things like chemicals/moisture emitted from your body as wel...
[ "There are a LOT of insects. Some are bound to get on on accident. You just don't notice all the ones outside, or even the ones that try to get in but fail" ]
eli5_question_answer
{ "query": "Represent the post:", "pos": "Represent the text:", "neg": "Represent the text:" }
Is it just a coincidence that maps and globes wernt originally drawn upside down? Why is North considered up?
[ "The explanation it that is is easier to draw for the northern hemisphere if north is up and the today dominant map making tradition is the one from Europe and in some ways start with [Ptolemy](_URL_0_) On the northern hemisphere you can see that we rotate around a point in the north and if you then draw a map of w...
[ "Just by convention. That's what most people are used to seeing. Same reason why when you take a picture, you hold your camera so the top is on top. Nothing's stopping you from holding your camera upside down when you take the picture, or from showing people your upside-down pictures. It's just that by convention, ...
eli5_question_answer
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