query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why do English speakers always use "I" correctly as a subject if it is alone, "me" mostly correctly if it is alone, but so many mess up if it is used with another noun? | [
"The problem is that for years, schools taught children to stop saying things like \"My friend and me are going to town.\" You would get the stern message from the teacher -- \"My friend and *I*!\" Since it was corrected with just a stern message instead of actual teaching about proper usage, a lot of people adopt... | [
"\"Him\" is the form of he you use when the guy is the object of the sentence. An object is the thing that the subject of the sentence is operating on. \"I hit him. I kissed him. I appointed him.\" But in your sentence, he is not being *operated* on, he is merely being equated to the subject of the sentence. Forms ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Out of all online games, why are MOBAs (LoL/DotA/Smite) have the least trouble with hackers? | [
"MOBAs are \"server-side\", meaning everything you do has to be greenlit by the server before you actually can do it. The server knows how much gold your character has, how much agility points or whatnot, how much said agility will increase by if you buy item X. Where you're moving, how fast, what you can see or n... | [
"How does Call of Duty differ from Battlefield? How does Binding of Isaac differ from Faster than Light? Same genre but different features. Different champions, different map layout, different abilities, different graphics styles etc etc. Watch a game of each and you will probably spot quite a few differences and s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What exactly is HAARP and why do people believe that it is used to manipulate the weather? | [
"HAARP was a research program to study the ionosphere with the aim of bouncing radio waves off of it for long range communication. Long range radio communication has always been subject to the conditions of the ionosphere and amateur radio operators have often capitalized on favorable ionosphere conditions to exten... | [
"Chem trails are something made up by conspiracy theorists. They believe that the contrails left by airplanes in the sky actually have chemicals in them (hence the name) that are used by the government to control the minds of the population."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is that if you pour a liquid out of a mug, it defies gravity and just runs down the side instead of pouring out normally? | [
"Surface tension - the liquid \"sticks\" to the surface a bit. Gravity still wins, the liquid just runs down the side of the mug first. If you tip the mug further, surface tension is not strong enough to divert the liquid, and it will pour normally."
] | [
"Think of straws. You know how you get the drops in a straw after u you've taken a drink? The ones that take up the entire space inside for a few millimeters? They stay there unless you blow them out, it's the same thing except the tube is open at one end only do you can't just blow in one end to push them out. Ne... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How does watching a footage of video games doesn't require as much graphical resources as playing the game itself? | [
"It's the difference between showing someone a painting you already made. (watching footage) And actually having to make the painting (playing the game). When you play a video game the computer needs to \"render\" the image. It actually has to **make** the image. Which requires a ton of math. The image you are seei... | [
"Along with the answer about selling multiple copies, it also requires more resources out of the machine to run a split screen game. The CPU needs to process the movements and actions of twice the characters, and the GPU has to render 2 separate screens. this ups the load on hardware, and typically a hit has to tak... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What causes pins and needles and what biologically happens when we feel them? | [
"Are you talking when your arm falls asleep kind of feeling? Lets assume you are. One of the jobs of your nervous system is to constantly send signals to your brain about what's going on. So your arm, for instance, is sending signals to the brain: things like, it's cold in this room, or someone is touching your arm... | [
"It means your extremities are not getting the adequate supply of oxygen from your blood. Your extremities are the farthest from your heart so they are the most difficult to supply with blood. If something causes the blood flow to be disrupted, you get a tingling feeling in your extremities similar to a limb going ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How was super bouncing in Halo 2 possible? | [
"It is a software defect, caused by their imperfect attempt to take old software and teach it new tricks without rewriting it. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Different engine and they got better at coding for the xbox. It was the opposite for the ps3 however."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How the long exposure feature on DSLR Cameras work. | [
"Essentially, the camera is a light detector, and the more time the shutter stays open, the more light info it has. Then, using that info over time, the camera interpolates one image where the spots that were lit the most over time are the brightest and voila, more exposure. The problem with that, however, is that ... | [
"It helps the lighting of the scene. At night there is very little light which makes it a little more difficult to light a large area like a street. But if the street is wet, then increases the ambient light values for the scene which makes the overall image more pleasing. It also reduces the amount of noise on the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why aren't clouds rainbow-colored? | [
"Sometimes they are! And it was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw...[circumhorizontal arc clouds](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"It's really cold up high in the sky. If a storm is REALLY strong, the clouds will get so cold that they will freeze, like the ice cubes in your refrigerator. Ice takes the red light out of the sky, and what is left over is yellow light and blue light. Yellow+Blue=Green, and so strong storms (especially with hail) ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can a knife be sharp enough to cut to the touch or without even being felt? | [
"Your skin is filled with nerves to detect damages. If a nerve cell is damaged it will tell the brain about it. But cells are actually bigger then people imagine. And sharp knifes have a very thin edge. Most microscopes can be used to see individual skin and nerve cells but even electromicroscopes might have issues... | [
"It focuses the force on one spot and allows it to make a clean slice through the neck, killing in one blow rather than potentially taking several hits. Edit: this is the same reason when you're cutting something, you don't just drop the knife flatly against it, you angle the blade to get a clean slice."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The painful little bump you get on your tongue sometimes. | [
"These are enlarged taste buds and commonly known as lie bumps. The cause is unknown but it is assumed to be from medical conditions and/or treatments, damage from teeth or objects placed in the mouth, or certain foods. They usually last several days and can be treated for pain using pain relieving gels. Some peopl... | [
"A kind of numbness occurs, a sense of something being wrong, immediately. There's something akin to an electrical jolt. Some wetness on the skin, as blood comes out. Pain comes afterward, once your brain figures out \"yes, that's pain.\". Nail in my foot. Being stabbed in other parts of the body or with other thin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If the sun suddenly disappeared, would the earth spin around nothing for 8 minutes? | [
"We would spin for 8 minutes. Everything is on that delay. And of course we would not know that we were spinning around nothing because the light of the sun would still be coming to us."
] | [
"1. We'd all go flying, as we're currently rotating at 1,000 mph. So the human race would end and all of our cities would be instantly destroyed. 2. The part of the earth facing the sun would become extraordinarily hot; it would be uninhabitable for humans. 3. The part of the earth not facing the sun would freeze o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Climate science:"
} |
How do dicemakers know which numbers to put on which sides of a dice? | [
"Opposite faces of a dice equal 7. So the side with 6 will have a 1 on the other side. The side with 4 has 3 the side with 2 has 5 on the other side. I’m not sure what betting dice are but in a casino dice are balanced so they do not favor 1 side."
] | [
"Each player has different colored chips. There is a big table with all the possible options that you can bet on. There's a space for each number, for black, for red, for odd numbers, etc. You have to put your chips on the table before the dealer waves and says no more bets. There is a camera right above it. Then t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
If I took 2 identical samples of "uneducated" neural networks and learned them with identical data would the output be identical? Why? | [
"Keep in mind, assuming nothing goes wrong, computers are deterministic systems. A machine running the exact same software with the exact same inputs will give the exact same result. If all of your inputs are the same you should get the same result. You need to remember that the random numbers are an input too. Tr... | [
"Right now it the closest we have gotten is using artificial neural networks. _URL_0_ It isn't quite as complex as mapping all of the synapses in the human brain. Basically we can make a neural network, and by feeding it a set of inputs and the correct output, we can teach it what kind of output we want in the futu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is the U.S.A. having the biggest economic boom in its history? | [
"It depends on how you measure it, but we aren't there yet. In terms of GDP growth the largest in the US history was in the early 1950s after WWII, where GDP was at 6.9%. The current economic \"boom\" is 2.2%. That doesn't even crack the top 5 \"booms\". In terms of length the longest on record was the 90s, the b... | [
"The United States are *not* the wealthiest or most advanced country on the planet. And what exactly do you mean by anxiety?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do animals give birth without any medical help? | [
"The placenta separates itself. Even humans births, it's not medically assisted. The placenta and umbilical cord is still attached to baby when it exits the mother. It's not required to cut the cord. it's actually recommended NOT to cut the cord until minutes after birth. The cord will still have blood in it un... | [
"It is extremely important to the lives of many people. It can literally be a matter of life and death."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
IF a dam can produce so much energy then why not just build 2 dams in a row. The water can pass through the first dam , then 100 yards later, gravity can pull it through the second? | [
"Sometimes the water is a few hundred above the turbines. If you put another dam in line it would have to be a few hundred feet below the previous dam. You need the change in elevation to create power. It you made 1 really close right after the 1st dam and it was close to the same level. The water level after the... | [
"Grounds already saturated to capacity the water remaining above ground is the excess. when you tunnel thru the base of a mountain you'll hit water and have to pump it out to keep from drowning"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do mobile "map" apps require data or internet connection to be used in addition to location services, when separate navigation devices need only connect to a satellite? | [
"Stand alone navigational devices that use GPS only need the GPS signal because they have the maps stored inside the device. Map applications need the network connection to load the map data from the internet to provide context for your GPS location (though Google and others now allow route caching for travel)."
] | [
"The Garmin has all of its maps built in to the unit. The iPhone doesn't, it gets that from the network. The iPhone's GPS works anywhere, but the GPS only provides latitude, longitude and elevation. If it doesn't have access to a map, it's useless for navigation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why is almost every image I see used online or on TV tagged as Getty Images? How does this company own almost all of the pictures? | [
"Because they're one of the only stock photography companies that has a strong customer relationship with most media companies. So when a news photographer takes a picture, they often license it to Getty to market, Getty licenses the image to media companies, and gets a cut of what the media firm pays (and pays the... | [
"You own the footage outright. But that doesn't mean you have the right to post it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Do eyes get tired from moving constantly during REM sleep? | [
"No. your eyes do that all day when you're awake too. They move around 100,000 times a day or so, and they're doing it constantly. they never get tired."
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why exactly IS oil in the United States so expensive? Is there a way around this issue if politics didn't have any influence or is the issue actually in the lack of oil supply? | [
"Well, oil is a global product and the price of a barrel of oil is roughly the same everywhere in the world. If you mean gasoline, you might be surprised to learn that the US is actually among the very cheapest of all the developed countries in the world. The average price of a gallon of gas in Europe is $7.75! A ... | [
"Because America depends on oil for more than just energy and fuel. Brobdingnagian amounts of money and power are involved with US oil companies, stocks, and even the economy itself in many other ways. Solar means a huge loss for the oil industry (\"Big Oil\") just as hemp threatened the paper industry many years a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Economics:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Economics:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How comes I occasionally see the future in my dreams? | [
"This is a very common phenomenon. There are two causes: 1. Your mind is trying to hard to predict things that seem likely to happen. Sometimes you guess right. 2. Memory is much more unreliable than it seems, and even more so when it's the memory of a dream. Your mind will actually adjust your memory to fit with w... | [
"I get this too! Especially when looking at the sky. Would love to know why."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does a drug cause suicidal thoughts? | [
"This may sound strange but one of the reasons is that severely depressed people lack the energy and motivation to kill themselves. Once an antidepressant drug starts working a lot of them get more motivated to kill themselves. > Most suicides occur within about three months following the beginning of “improvement... | [
"> How is the charge of ions in the air supposed to affect someone’s mood, specifically in the case of Seasonal Affective Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder? They don't have any effect."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why aren't any elevators designed so you can press the buttons again to undo the floor selections? | [
"There is an anti nuisance feature that can be enabled on some control equipment that will determine if this very thing occurred, and cancel all car calls. But this has to be requested by the owner. The control equipment has to have this software or ability of course."
] | [
"The heat of a fire tends to melt and fuse the wiring in, among other things, elevator call buttons. This closes the circuit, sending a \"call\" signal to the elevator. So if you got on an elevator in a fire, it would respond to this call and take you right to where the flames were hottest. Firefighter elevator key... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why do stripes look wonky on videos? | [
"In real life, spots on a line can be anywhere they want. In videos (assuming vertical lines on a 1080p video) each spot has only 1080 places it can possibly be. If the line is perfectly straight, they will line up nicely like that, but if not, the recording device will have to choose a spot to put each part of th... | [
"What's happening is that you have two patterns lining up, the grid of pixels in your camera's sensor and the grid of pixels on the computer screen. When they don't line up exactly evenly, you get a Moiré pattern, which is a pattern that \"emerges\" from the interaction of the two patterns we're dealing with. It's ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why can't you make emergency calls with communication apps like Skype? Having WLAN access in areas with no cellphone reception or landline isn't exactly an unlikely scenario. | [
"When you're on something connected to the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), every entry point has a distinct 911 call center it is supposed to go to. Landline in your house? They know where to route it. Cell phone on a tower in a back road? They know which tower you're pinging off of, and so which call center to ... | [
"It uses 3G (or 4G) just like your cellphone connection. If you got a wireless hotspot you can use it virtually anywhere you can get cell service."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do cats know when it is going to rain or storm? | [
"They don't. I have 2 cats that have free access to the outdoors. And when a sudden rain storm arises, they come back in soaking wet. They have no clue it's about to rain."
] | [
"Because it could startle them and they might attack you. It is a myth that it will give them a heart attack or put them into a coma. \"They\" say the best thing you can do is gently lead them back to bed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What's more harmful, eating shitfood only in sunday and saturday, or eating same amount of it splitted into 7 days. | [
"Consuming the shitfood over a shorter period of time will give you a higher glycemic spike, which is bad. It also has to process more nasty ass ingredients in a shorter period of time, which is harder on the body. It would be like drinking a fifth of vodka over one night and getting shit faced, or having a drink e... | [
"There is no way to \"negate\" a healthy meal by eating an unhealthy one. You can \"lose advantage\" if you are trying to lose weight... ie: \"Damn, I just undid all of yesterdays dieting with my ice-cream binge\" but the carrot sticks you had for lunch still provided you with # grams of beta carotene. So, in tryi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why do some adults feel attracted to children and not people of the same age range | [
"In short, we don't know, and the fact that the ideas of child sexual abusers (which are not always pedophiles, similarly not all pedophiles are child abusers) and the stigma that comes with that is so tightly bound to the idea of pedophilia is a severe blow to doing good research studies to find out the actual cau... | [
"They know they are gay because they feel attracted to members of the same gender as themselves."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why is Chinas biggest bank on the verge of default and what does this all mean for them and for us? | [
"you mean [this](_URL_0_)? though, a few points: 1. ICBC is **the largest Bank** in the world in total Asset. iirc, a tad lower than **USD $3 TRILLION**. 2. the \"thing\" that might default is a loan trust from a struggling coal company. ie higher risk = higher return. in this case, ~10% in return. 3. the whole tru... | [
"Their GDP dropped to the point that investors did not believe the government would be able to pay its debts on time. Thus the rating on their government bonds plummetted. To prevent a government default, they received bailout money from other countries."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why are spent nuclear fuels still dangerous, but no longer useful? | [
"Nuclear power works by splitting large atoms. When you split them, the two smaller pieces you get are random, they also tend to be unstable. Some are so unstable they are radioactive. Some are so unstable they produce heat (which is what causes a meltdown). Nuclear power is by splitting the atom. But the danger... | [
"The long term storage has been a thorny issue. The principal reaction is \"Not in my back yard\" so a lot of nuclear waste is in temporary storage somewhere. It sits where it was produced. Agents of the Federal government searched diligently. They found a site without enough rain to worry about groundwater contami... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do we feel the intense need to swallow food in our mouths, yet we can chew gum without that urge? | [
"The urge to swallow comes when the food is mashed into a sort of runny paste that can very easily be swallowed. Try chewing up a piece of bread, but then use your tongue to mash it back into a single big mass, you'll probably notice an urge to chew it up again before swallowing. Also, try eating some really dry fo... | [
"Gagging. Your body wants that nasty substance out of it but you know that you want to swallow it so you're conflicted and begin to gag"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is fried chicken, watermelon and fruit-flavored soft drinks associated with african-americans? | [
"Maybe Brazil is more progressive now, but historically Brazil and the rest of South America has had even worse race relations than the U.S. Not only was slavery more widespread and brutal in Brazil (and South America generally), it wasn't ended there until 1888 (nearly a quarter century after the Southern U.S., an... | [
"Try eating only raisin bran cereal all day, every day, while there's plenty of corn-dogs and fried chicken in the fridge."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Now that the GOP controls the Senate, what can we expect for the future? | [
"More gridlock. They have a majority, but not a 2/3 majority. Expect very little to happen for two years."
] | [
"How would the president conduct a hostile takeover without the military? Also a takeover of what?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why does a equivalent Tesla Model S cost so much more in Switzerland than in the US even though the Swiss Franc is valued higher than the US-Dollar? | [
"Tesla cars are made in the U.S. and therefore have to be exported to Switzerland. Most imports, especially for luxury items, are going to be more expensive than domestic goods. The value of a currency has nothing to do with the set price."
] | [
"You're right. It's a common misconception to say, for example, that since you get more Canadian dollars in exchange for US dollars, the US dollar is worth more. If prices were the same in both countries that would be the case, but prices are not even consistent from one city to the next within the same country, le... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is it safe to eat beef tartare, but we absolutely have to cook ground beef to a certain temperature? | [
"Beef Steak Tartar is cut from sirloin or round and is minced all by hand to keep the possibility of contamination low. Hamburger meat is usually the scraps that are left behind that can not be processed into other cuts, there have also been instances of not quite pure beef being thrown into the meat grinder, spina... | [
"Regulations in the US, Canada, and several other countries require that any fish intended to be eaten raw is frozen to a very low temperature for a long time before it can be eaten. This kills parasites the same way cooking would, and it' only because of these careful rules that eating raw fish is ok. Similar to f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
From a non-religious standpoint, why do we have religion? | [
"Religion was a way for people to explain phenomenons they could not explain in any other way. By being able to explain these phenomenons gave people a sense of comfort and 'power. Look at it this way. If you don't understand thunderstorms, you don't know why they happen and why they sometimes set stuff on fire. Yo... | [
"The mormons and Scientology would like a word with you as would a great many Islamic and Christian sects. You must take time into account. Religions develop over centuries."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how come when i leave my fully charged ipod in my car on a chilly night, in the morning the battery is dead | [
"its not dead, its just cold. When it warms up, it should be fine. Everything moves slower in the cold, including batteries. (this is also why your car battery seems to only \"die\" in winter!)"
] | [
"its not ideal... but the car should be running when your driving, which will keep it cool enough with AC. if youre going to leave your car in the sun for a while, might want to take batteries with you, they *could* explode under extreme heat, more likely if they are fully charged. (but never all that likely)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
When constructing the Great Wall, the bodies of deceased workers were used as filler, but after they decayed wouldn't the wall have lost structural integrity? | [
"This is one of the greatest misconceptions of the Great Wall history. The origin of this mistake is a Han Dynasty poem about the Great Wall where you can read \"Dead men’s skeletons prop each other up.\" So many people thought that it literally meant that deceased workers were used as filler but it meant instead t... | [
"Wind patterns, and people throwing out refuge can lead to a gradual increase in ground level. Also, bear in mind that we find buried buildings because there are still there to be found. All the building that didn't get buried eroded away or were torn down by people."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
The concept of "state rights" and why does it exist. | [
"State's do have rights. In fact, really early on we didn't have the Constitution, we had the [Articles of Confederation](_URL_0_) instead. This was really heavy towards state's rights and away from the Federal government. The Federal government couldn't even tax! ... and it's been deleted."
] | [
"Because we don't have any part of our Constitution that makes driving a guaranteed right, unlike gun ownership."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Dungeons and Dragons alignments. | [
"Lawful good does good things but follows the rules. Think goody two shoes. Chaotic good does the right thing regardless of the rules. Think robin hood. Neutral good is somewhere in between. Lawful neutral just sees rules, and follows them regardless of what they say. Think Supreme Court. Chaotic neutral does whate... | [
"Yes to both your questions. See: Spy satellites."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How can the american constitution be wildly popular while the system of governance it has created is wildly unpopular (especially Congress) | [
"Different people like different parts of the constitution. People who constantly harp about how great it is and how horrible it is that various politicians trample all over it, many of them try to ignore parts of it that they find inconvenient for them, or dismiss alternate interpretations of various passages as o... | [
"Why are the USA considered a democratic country? * Although a majority of the population voted for Gore in 2000, Bush became president * Free speech: See Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden. If everything you say on telephone/internet is recorded and can be used against you, it is not a free country, I would say. *... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What's the point of one-penny/one-dollar discounts? | [
"It's a ploy to make things appear subconsciously cheaper to the buyer"
] | [
"It's really just to squeeze out the extra cent, like why most prices in general end with 99 cents. Source: Managed a gas station"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How did nail polish become a thing? | [
"In Ancient Egypt and a few other ancient cultures the wealthy lacquered or otherwise painted their nails as a sign of status. The fact that they were able to afford the make-up and lived a leisurely enough life that they did not have to use their hands for labor thus breaking/damaging them was a major thing for th... | [
"What color is the skin of most of the people who make and utilize those drawings? Theres your answer"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why are ambulance services owned and used privately when police and fire are run by towns and cities etc? | [
"In the USA, the government has opted to stay out of the whole medical arena as much as it can. As soon as they can put you in the care of a non-government health organization, they do."
] | [
"In lots of different ways - there are no rules really. Typically, they exist to serve those without insurance, or those who cannot afford fees that are associated with their insurance. They are often totally free, or pay on a sliding scale with the bottom of the scale being free. Some are topic specific (e.g. diab... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How are Quad-Core Intel processors better than Hexa/Octa-core AMD processors? | [
"The frequency (GHz) doesn't tell the whole story, because one processor might be able to accomplish more each cycle than another one, so you can't compare based on that number alone. The number of cores doesn't tell the whole story because (a) four fast cores might outpace six slow cores and (b) many programs (inc... | [
"There are many different brands and models of mobile processors. It's not like Intel vs AMD. The most common ones are from Qualcomm, who are responsible for the Snapdragon. Their flagship processors can be identified by the 8 as the first number. They are currently on the 835. Their mid ranges begin with a 6, and ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does sleep paralysis always seem to be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations? | [
"It depends on the theory of dreaming that you subscribe to. Personally I think the activation synthesis model has merit - that is, while your neurons are firing away during dreaming stages your subconscious mind interprets this based on your experiences. Paralysis must be pretty scary whether dreaming or not so wh... | [
"There is a huge list of things that can cause someone to suffer hallucinations (which is what this sounds like). In terms of mental illnesses, you might be thinking of Schizophrenia, the symptoms of which often include hallucinations, delusions and so on."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are "pin prick" attacks often dismissed as unlikely to transmit diseases when we are so often and well warned of the dangers of sharing needles? | [
"Even healthcare workers who get deep needle sticks from infected patients are rarely infected. Sharing needles is more dangerous in part because you are not doing it just once. If you get jabbed once and the odds are 1/200, chances are good you will be ok. Jab yourself several time a day for a year because you are... | [
"They don't. It is a bias in reporting of the incidents. If you are cut by the teeth of a non-human animal it is probably because an animal bit you. You will likely seek medical attention immediately whether or not it ends up getting infected. If you are cut by the teeth of a human it is probably because you punche... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why so many videogames have the "glitching through surface and shaking furiously" bug and why does it happen? | [
"It's a result of a game's physics engine trying to approximate things \"bouncing off\" each other when they're trapped. So first what happens is the objects clip through each other, due to one of ten billion possible bugs or reasons. Exactly what gets 'em going through each other depends on the game. But what then... | [
"Notice how a trailer usually plays if you don't press start? Not having a static menu show up before you confirm your presence runs the risk that the image of the menu can get burned into the screen/display media Also its kinda customary now."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is a person's Muslim faith verified before entering Mecca? | [
"If you mean the Hajj pilgrimage, there's a specific Saudi visa you need to get. Male Hajj pilgrims (mahram) apply for it (women can't apply for their own and must be accompanied by a mahram). If you're a convert, you must supply an Islamic Certificate from your local Islam Centre."
] | [
"I'm sure there are some people in ISIS who believe they are on a divinely inspired mission to convert every human on the planet to Islam, all ruled from the central Caliphate according to Shari'a law. How do they expect to do that? Miracles."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why colleges charge exponentially more for out-of-state tuition. | [
"Because in-state pay taxes that help pay for the college. Out of state students don't, so they get a higher rate."
] | [
"You're getting a TON of assistance, it's just coming from your home state who subsidise tuition for residents. They are *not* all like that. I paid ~$15,000 per year to go to a public university in Virginia (in-state tuition), and that was before room and board, transportation, textbooks, or a whole host of other... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How can a computer be built specifically for a programming language? | [
"Your question doesn't quite make sense. Are you referring to something specific? What makes you think that a computer is built for a specific programming language?"
] | [
"A pragmatic reasoning could be that the majority of computer users have no clue how to install an operating system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What insurance companies do rich people use? | [
"Well, as far as car insurance goes, some people choose to be \"self-insured.\" In my state of Kentucky, you can prove to the State that you are financially capable of insuring yourself by putting $50k in a bank account and not touching it, adding an extra $10k per vehicle to a maximum of $100k."
] | [
"That's exactly how car insurance works. Can you clarify your question?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Allergy Shots and why I had to receive them as a kid | [
"In order for you to build some resistance towards the things you are allergic to they give you small injections of the type of substance your allergic to. Over time if you come in contact with say grass you would be less allergic to it because you were exposed to it (in small portions) when you got you're shots, t... | [
"1. Take Tylenol for a fever 2. Take ibuprofen for aches/ pains 3. Take aspirin as a blood thinner to prevent heart attack (when recommended by your doctor) 4. Don't take too much"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does fear increase heart rate? | [
"Im sure everyone should know about the flight or fight response. when we see something scary our amygdala releases norepinephrine (adrenaline) or some variation which increases heart rate, and activity in the brain, generally every area of the brain that might save you, say, in the presence of a bear, like the fro... | [
"Do they both have side effects that include increased heart rate?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
what existed before the big bang? what went 'bang' and why? | [
"We don't know. *Any* answer you hear on this is nothing more than a speculation."
] | [
"Simply put, they're not, and anyone who claims they are isn't a true scientist. What scientists, or more accurately, astrophysicists are certain about, is that ~13.7 billion years ago, the universe underwent a massive expansion, with new forces, particles, etc coming into existence. As for what happened in the mil... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why is winking so.. attractive? | [
"I can think of many reasons. First it is a sign of acknowledgment which is of course attractive. Another reason is that winking is usually accompanied by slightly opening the mouth, which is associated with kissing and other displays of affection. Plus it can display healthy dentistry which has strong primal bases... | [
"Do you lick your anus clean after you're done? No? That's why."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do some cars and trucks still have an almost vertical front face | [
"Big trucks have Big engines. Big engines make lots of heat. All cars and trucks have a part called a Radiator. The Radiator is where all the heat from the Engine goes. The Radiator is put just inside the front of the Car or Truck so the air can take the heat away as the Car or Truck drives. Big Trucks have Big eng... | [
"Cars use photo sensors, sometimes on the dash under a frosted cover and sometimes in the back of the mirror. They aren't usually on the outside, that would expose them to environmental effects."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why does good tasting food eventually begin to taste boring after having it a lot? | [
"When something good happens, ie you eat a delicious croissant, the brain releases feel-good chemicals (called \"endorphins\") which, as you may have guessed, make you feel good (in the form of you thinking it's delicious). After this process has been repeated a lot, the part of the brain absorbing the endorphins h... | [
"The theory is that since taste is closely associated with smell, you become partially desensitized to the smell of food you have been cooking since you are exposed to it, whereas food someone else prepares won't have that happen, so you will smell it fresh for the first time as you eat it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
When you say a word over and over again, why does the word start to not make sense? | [
"This phenomenon is called *semantic satiation*. When you think of a word, there is a nerve connection somewhere in your brain associated with the word. That connection fires (communication between nerve endings occurs). There is some neurotransmitter present which is a mediator for the firing. When too much neurot... | [
"Because they sound odd, we're not used to them. If you would listen to reversed sounds/music all day long you would get used to it and it would sound normal to you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
how did people in, let's say 1700, lay the fundaments for bridges underwater without the technology we now have? | [
"Try /r/askhistorians in case you don't get a good explanation here."
] | [
"no body has a definite answer, but part of it can be attributed to the fact that computers make inventing things massively easier, part of it could be that education is becoming more and more available to people, but a major theory is that technology just seems to advance at an \"exponential rate\", meaning that a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does everyone hate Yoko Ono? | [
"Imagine you've started a He Man Woman Hater's club with the rest of the guys and this girl Darla comes along and wants to play with Alfalfa. Well the rules were explicit and stated no girls allowed in the club. Alfalfa and Spanky are egotistical and artsy and follow different interests. Alfalfa likes spiders and S... | [
"She's hated? First I've heard of it. Source?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What makes it possible to control a touch screen while lightly hovering your finger over the screen? | [
"The way most modern touch screens work is the folowing (very simplified): The phones screen creates a magnetic field. Your finger (or basically any conducting object) changes that field when it is inside of it. The screen then calculates where those changes happened and therefor have the position of the touch inpu... | [
"A touchscreen will work with any conductor, but there needs to be a large enough surface area touching the screen to make it work. Try touching a fingertip-sized piece of metal to the screen."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What causes wired headphones/earbuds to break in such a way that sound is only received in one earbud? | [
"The cord for those headphones contains three wires. One is the left signal, one is the right signal, and one is the ground. If you break exactly one of those wires, you will lose sound on one side, unless you broke the ground in which case RIP. Manipulation of the cable can sometimes move the broken inner metal wi... | [
"Your cochlea(inner ear) is made up of very very tiny cells that can be easily damaged by loud sounds, illness, etc. Your cochlea is then connected to your brain via the auditory nerve. If either of these two parts gets damaged, your brain can misinterpret what is being heard(or not being heard). As these cells get... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health:"
} |
Why do right-handed people use their left hand when fingering a guitar, and vice versa? | [
"Probably. I'm left-handed and I play a right-handed guitar, couldn't play a lefty guitar at all. My fingering is much stronger than my picking, and I find that the opposite is usually true with natural right-handed guitarists. But a lot of guitar music requires more dexterity from the strumming hand than the fret... | [
"Many, many factors, from genetics to religion and culture. According to research, left-handedness runs in families, meaning children of left-handed people are more likely to be left-handed than children of right-handed people. In some cultures, using your left hand rather than your right hand to do normal activiti... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Have we ever reached absolute zero? Why/Why not? | [
"No Absolute Zero is just a theoretical concept think of temperature in terms of transfer of heat from hot to cold. When an object cools down, what it's really doing, is losing some of its heat until it is equal to the surrounding area. AZ is an asymptote, which means you can exponentially approach it, but will nev... | [
"We don't know, but physicists are working hard to try to find out. Seriously, it's one of the Big Questions."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is blackface offensive but drag isn't? | [
"Blackface has a history of being used to demean black people and white actors in blackface would get acting jobs instead of actual black people. Drag doesn't have the same history behind it and isn't regarded as offensive by most people."
] | [
"People just don't mind racist jokes very much, as long as it's clear that the person telling them doesn't hate other races."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does it seem like when you are moving in the dark you are going much faster than you actually are? | [
"That could merely be a subjective experience, but this experience can be helped by the fact that your perception of far-off landmarks is vastly reduced. You measure movement by the movement of landmarks in relation to you, and at night you cannot see far-off landmarks. Because of this, you only see things that are... | [
"Because you know where you are, where the toilet is, and that that is the direction you are currently heading. If you aren't getting closer you are doing it wrong."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do so many animals love to have their tummies rubbed? | [
"The tummy is generally the one weak spot that you don't want anyone to reach for an animal learnt from instincts of combat through evolution. It is much less protected and it contains most of your vitals. Turning over and exposing your underside is a sign of trust, and having it rubbed is an act of intimacy like h... | [
"Are you kidding? Who shouldn't want their back an head scratched all the time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Do people still go through a trial if they plead guilty? | [
"Short answer: no; there's nothing to prove. Long answer: you, opposing counsel, and the judge get together and tell each other the plan. The judge will open court to have you officially plead guilty or no contest and then he'll to go on to sentence you."
] | [
"It's a crime to do that, and you are likely to be caught and convicted. People don't do it frequently because going to prison is no fun."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Cracking Your Jaw - What Is It About? | [
"Your jaw is a type of joint called a diarthrosis or synovial joint. This means that there is synovial fluid around the area of the joint to cushion the bone/cartilage articulations. Sometimes \"When the two articulating surfaces of a synovial joint are separated from one other, the volume within the joint capsule... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why are 9volt batteries best equipped for smoke detectors? Better than, say, AA batteries, or D batteries, or any other? | [
"A) 9 Volt batteries only go in one way, there's virtually no risk of connecting them backwards (and thus, rendering a device unusable) like you have with AA, AAA, C & D cells. B) They provide 9 Volts while other common cells only provide 1.5 Volts. If a device is better operated with higher voltages, it's easier t... | [
"It is just a difference in the physical size of the battery, which changes how much charge they hold. They are all 1.5v batteries Small, low drain devices need a small light battery, so they use AAA. Heavy drain devices like remote control cars need a lot of charge, so they use D size. And so on"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
what program do famous game developers use to make their games and how much time does it take? | [
"They use a lot of programs. 343 Industries uses Maya for its modeling and texturing, Visual Studio for frame analysis and templating, Cryengine for visual scripting and 3D videos, Autodesk for project management and scripting, the list goes on and on. Any one person is unlikely to know all of these programs to th... | [
"Almost all Iphone apps are made in Xcode. It's basically free with a mac and is their version of Visual Studio (Microsoft makes this one, it's a program to make other program.) The stages are basically. 1.) Idea 2.) Design 3.) Programming 4.) Certification 5.) On the Iphone store. 1.) Come up with the idea. 2.) De... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Video game design:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Video game design:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What motivated poor white Confederate soldiers to fight and possibly die in the Civil War? | [
"The civil war was not purely a social war; it had a LOT to do with the industrial revolution and the production distribution of the North to South (vice versa)"
] | [
"They didn't. While there were slave gangs that did associated manual labor (building railroads, clearing down trees off roadways, etc.), there were no black soldiers in the Confederate Army. Throughout the war, it was proposed multiple times to offer slaves their freedom in exchange for fighting in the Army. One o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How the first settlers made it to remote islands such as Easter Island and Hawaii. | [
"Boats. The Pacific Islanders were *really* good at getting places in small boats. They had catamarans which are much more stable than a single-hulled canoe."
] | [
"When Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas, he believed he landed somewhere in India or China. So he called the inhabitants Indians. The name really stuck."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
if proteins and enzymes denature at high temperatures, how do animals such as tardigrades survive under these conditions. | [
"They have proteins that are designed to retain their shape at high temperatures. In fact, it's possible that those proteins won't function under more normal temperatures."
] | [
"Bacteria can survive in the cold. However biological organisms have certain temperature ranges where they operate well, while outside those ranges the chemical reactions are slowed down. Most bacteria have evolved along animals as hosts, so they like it quite warm (a bit under body temperature) & are most active i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Australians, how do your seasons work compared to the northern hemisphere? | [
"Syrian living in Australia here. In Syria (northern hemisphere), in summer it is consistently 30-40°C outside and in winter it snows daily. In Australia (Victoria) there is absolutely no consistency. Half of our summer days can be rainy or even stormy, while half our winter days can be sunny. The inconsistency of... | [
"Does it spiral the other way in the southern hemisphere?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why doesn’t any gaming companies use AO (Adults Only) Rating from ESRB? | [
"IIRC it has to do with stores not wanting to sell adult only games. Like GameStop doesn't want to be known as the store that sells adult products."
] | [
"The film ratings system is administered by the Motion Picture Association of America, while television content ratings are governed by the Federal Communications Committee. Other than that there really isn't a reason."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why were the first countries founded and what were they? | [
"once enough food was grown cities developed because there was enough food to have people who arent farmers. those cities turn into city states because the people who grow food for the city need armies to protect them. ththose city states turn into empires and eventually into countries"
] | [
"The world is older than the United states. So, lots of years ago people living in Europe were the most western people in the known world. For a long time. Also. Here's something that is big. A lot of people in the United States are from Europe, based on European culture. So that's why US gets to be westerners."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Screen resolution vs. Pixel density. NO MATH, please. | [
"Resolution is how many pixels there are on the whole screen. Pixel density is how many pixels there are in a square centimetre of screen. So for example if my laptop and my phone both have the same screen resolution, the phone must have higher pixel density because it's got the same number of pixels but a smaller ... | [
"As someone who works in QA, DONT EVER GO INTO QA!!!! FUCKING RUNNN!!!!!!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How do some parrots manage to produce certain sounds (b, p, v...) with their rigid beaks? | [
"There was some research on this a long time ago published in Acoustical Society of America where they had xrayed parrots to see what was going on when they mimicked certain sounds, I believe their conclusion was that they uses their oesophagus, trachea, and glottis to create pressure build-ups and bursts that mimi... | [
"They aren't. There are lots of cases of other animals trying to mimic what they hear a human say. You can easily youtube dogs trying to talk or mimic a noise they hear. Goats too are a good example. As for why certain birds do it so often. Well birds rely on sound to locate each other, remember they are some of th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What exactly is pain and pleasure (or all sensation for the matter)? I understand the physical aspect (chemicals released in the brain), but I cannot understand how this 'translates' into what we consciously 'feel'. Help me! | [
"Taking this seriously, check. You are not the first to have this problem. If we could understand the process as to how chemistry becomes consciousness, then many long standing philosophical problems would go away. Give it a few more years and neuroscience might be able to shed some light on it. If you want some h... | [
"When you touch someone and shock them, yes you both feel the shock. I’m not sure what you mean by an “object” *feeling* because inanimate objects don’t have central nervous systems that allow them to feel."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Dear Fellow Five Year-Olds, please stop asking science questions. There's already a much better subreddit for that. | [
"But people posting science questions here want to be able to understand the answer."
] | [
"Some things cannot be meaningfully simplified to an ELI5 level. This is one of them. You'll have better luck asking in a specialized maths subreddit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why we don't use XDR DRAM? | [
"Because manufacturers have to pay Rambus for the privilege of making XDR RAM. DDR* SDRAM is an open standard published by an industry group that includes all the companies that make the hardware."
] | [
"I can really only answer your 3rd question: Q: \"Why does _____ issue it's own?\" A: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why do we enjoy listening to music? | [
"Follow up: why do I find songs without drums so incessantly boring? Its literally just someone smashing a bunch of barrels but its make-or-break for me."
] | [
"Because of boredom. Lack of brain stimulation can cause fatigue. I recommend listening to an audio book while driving. Preferably narrated by Samuel Jackson."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does microbiome sequencing work, and what can we learn from our own gut bacteria? | [
"Bacteria are identified by a region of their genome called the \"16S rRNA\" locus, which encodes part of their cellular machinery and acts as a fingerprint because it differs between species. Since most bacteria, especially anaerobic ones in the gut, can't be cultured, DNA sequencing gives us a sense of all the di... | [
"No. Every person has a unique assortment of foreign bacteria that live in our intestines. Google the term \"gut flora\" for more info. Most of these bacteria are benign, and many help us digest foods. Everyone will digest the same food differently. To one of these doctors researching gut flora, your poop is as uni... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
what mods for videogames are, how they are used and where they come from. | [
"A 'mod' is short for modification. It can be anything from improving accuracy of aiming a gun in a FPS, to adding extra levels in a platformer game. Anyone with computer knowledge including modelling and programming can make a mod. They are mostly for computer video games, as the files are easily edited. Usually, ... | [
"They Aren't. It's all preferences with certain software. Industry standards don't necessarily mean they are better rather than whats commonly used."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why is it that around 90% of cars in the UK and rest of Europe are Manual Transmission (clutch, gearbox) but in the US this is reversed to 90% automatic? | [
"Not to discourage anyone from adding new information, but this question has been asked numorous time and you might want to check out the [previous threads](_URL_0_) asking the exact same question."
] | [
"There used to be good reasons to drive a manual shift car (regarding getting good gas mileage), but that's really not an issue these days. The margin is so small that people would rather not have to deal with it. So if you are given a choice of manual or automatic, it becomes \"why not automatic?\" And the only le... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it when we're tired and want to fall asleep that our brains decide to race through past memories, anxieties, embarrassments, etc? | [
"So our brains work primarily on inhibition, shutting things off, one of the first things to go when we are tired, drunk or whatever, is our ability to exert inhibitory control. This means we can't shut off impulses, stray thoughts, etc."
] | [
"Bedtime, for me, tends to be when I have the most amount of time to just think with no distractions. If you have problems in your life that you aren't happy about, you might get through the day by distracting yourself from those thoughts, but at night, there's nothing to distract you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Of the 365 days in a year, why is today considered the first? | [
"[Julius Caesar thought it would be appropriate for January, Janus' namesake month, to be the doorway to a new year, and when he created the Julian calendar, he made January 1 the first day of the year (this also put the calendar year in line with the consular year, as new consuls also took office that day)](_URL_0... | [
"It’s released towards the end of the year to be enjoyed during most of The following year."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can I taste eyedrops on the back of my tongue? How does it get from my eyeballs to my throat? | [
"> Is there a connection between my eyes and my throat that I somehow missed during biology class? Yes. You have \"[lacrimal puncta](_URL_0_)\" on the inside of your eyelids that drain tears through to your lacrimal sac, and then through your [lacrimal ducts](_URL_1_) to your nasal cavity."
] | [
"The drugs don't usually make it into the lungs. They are absorbed into the lining of your nasal cavity. If any of it drips down into your throat then it is more likely to go to your stomach than your lungs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do cartoon characters generally always wear the same clothes? | [
"It's too much work and effort for the artists to draw a new set of clothes every episode. Plus, most cartoon characters are recognised by their clothing and have an \"iconic look\""
] | [
"Of course there's a physical change in their appearance: they're no longer wearing the glasses that they normally wear."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What contributes to a room or space becoming "stuffy" and how can our bodies tell? | [
"Primarily it is a lack of air movement. Your bodies tell by the pocket of warm air around your body warmed by your body heat stops being disrupted thus hindering your body cooling properly. You tell by the odors around you (and from you) not moving about and becoming stale. And there are many other smaller cues."
... | [
"Indoor air is often filled with many more pollutants than outdoor air, especially formaldehyde. Also, she wants you to get off your ass and do something."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why words like "Pizza" or "Nazi," the z makes a "t" sound (pete-za not pee-zzaaa)? | [
"the double z in pizza makes that sound because that is how it is pronounced in italian. the same goes for the most part in german for the single z (as s in german makes the zee sound). it's just how languages are :3"
] | [
"They are phonetic, but when European lettering was being introduced to China it was done by a German speaker, not an English speaker so the Chinese were matching their phonemes. You also have the fact that many phonemes in Asian languages exist between two or more phonemes in European ones. For \"xie\" the phonem... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are so many US veterans homeless? | [
"Because everything is handed to us while we are in. When we get out we don't know how to take responsibility, PTSD, most of us come from troubled homes so some of us don't have homes to return to, and there are many other reasons but these to me are the main reasons. At least the reasons I see from personal experi... | [
"They don't want to be known as the perpetrator of millions of deaths and ethnic cleansing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why launch into space from the ground as opposed to something like a high-altitude aeroplane? | [
"I am also curious. I guess it comes down to a comparison of a plane's lift vs. a rocket's thrust, at some level? Taking the space shuttle and it's 747 carrier, it would be interesting to know if it is technically plausible to alter that design such that the carrier plane takes off from a runway and goes to 45,000 ... | [
"The expense of building a giant slingshot would far outweigh the expense of just building a bigger rocket."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why are weddings so expensive? | [
"Weddings cost a ton. You *can* keep it under five grand depending on the size of the wedding and what you're including in the festivities, but here's a list of things to spend money on... * Renting the venue * Catering (usually a HUGE chunk of change) * Alchohol * Music * Photographer(s) * Limousine(s) * Flowers/D... | [
"Why does it cost money to get divorced? Because it's worth it!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
When experiencing cold symptoms, why does only one side of ones nose become blocked or runny? Why not both? | [
"The rate at which air enters your nostrils effects what smells you smell. Each nostril is actually a different width at any given time so we can smell the largest amount of different smells. Your nostrils take turns being wider/narrower. When you have a cold and your nostrils are swollen and the one that is narrow... | [
"Ear, nose and throat are all connected together. Usually when you get sick your sinuses swell up causing pressure in your ears."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Health:"
} |
Why do internet ads always include an "x" or "cancel" button so you can close out of them? Often, they try to hide this function, but it's almost always there somewhere. Is this for legal reasons? | [
"I'm not sure if it is actually a legal thing, that sounds possible, but also imagine how much you would hate a product/website with ads you couldn't close, especially popup ones. Its in the best interests of both advertiser and website owner to make the ads as in your face as possible without crossing the line int... | [
"I've had plenty that only have a \"Click here to keep receiving emails\" button. Ignoring the emails should be an opt-out, but it doesn't hurt to include an explicit \"No thanks\" button. It gives you some idea whether people are deliberately opting out or just falling off the list through apathy (although the end... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Invention of soap came way before germ theory (right?). So what were they actually thinking? A happy accident? | [
"When humans grubbed about in the dirt and mud, we got dirty. Often times sticky liquids used to fall on us, like sap or blood. Normal water in the rivers was enough to wash ourselves of dirt and blood, but humans noticed that fats helped in removing these sticky resins from our skin. That was the early precursor... | [
"Pharmacist - Last I checked a couple years ago, the still really don't know. Mystery of nature. Everyone can be thankful they figured out these chemicals do that they do. But any explanation HOW was still just theoretical."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
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