Recent comments in /f/explainlikeimfive

phiwong t1_jedorky wrote

Reply to eli5 why is file/folder size is in bytes but speed counts are mostly in bits? by ArchariosMaster

Partly tradition, partly the hardware and partly the software.

For computing devices data is moved around, operated and stored in bytes consisting of 8 bits. (although modern ones operate just as well in double bytes of 16 bits) So the byte became the default means of designating the fundamental data element. Therefore the size of "stuff" is conveniently expressed in the number of bytes.

For transmission, however, most modern communications and networks operate on a single line transmission. There are parallel communication methods but they tend to be local. But things like USB, wi-fi, internet have hardware that send data in a stream of bits. Therefore the speed of transmission is conveniently measured in bits per second

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orphf13 t1_jedomda wrote

Reply to comment by Ninjaromeo in eli5 What does “indicted” mean? by jcw10489

Sorry little late to the thread, and fair points to you for admitting you’re wrong on the Internet! Lol

From your comment below:

>My main point though, is that indictment does not mean that the court or government thinks you are guilty.

I think we’re just having a miscommunication over what “the government” is. Since you said “court or government” it sounds like you’re saying the US or State government where you’ve been charged, and you’re correct that the entire government considers you innocent until proven guilty.

In court parlance, “The Government” I’m referring to means the prosecutor. If you were indicted, the case would be “The United States vs Ninjaromeo” and you would be referred to as your name or “the defendant,” while the prosecutor would be referred to as “the government.”

Prosecutors do not bring cases against people unless they think they can win the eventual court case, so by that definition, any indictment is the prosecutor (and using that parlance, “the government”) thinking you’re guilty.

And just to comment on your strikethroughs, as you are correct on some points though your interpretations went outside of reality. You’re right that only the prosecutor presents anything, but that is to make sure that based on that evidence they have a trial in the first place. Trials are expensive, and if a case can’t stand up to evidence without a defense, it definitely won’t stand up without one. In some cases the prosecutor can just go to a judge, but grand juries are a way to make that even more impartial particularly in high profile cases where it might be difficult to find an impartial jury.

Your fourth paragraph is where your comment went off the rails though, grand jury proceedings are secret for a reason, and cannot be used as evidence. Only evidence can be used as evidence. If they don’t see that you’ve met probable cause, you aren’t going to win in a trial anyway, so not putting taxpayer dollars toward that is a good thing.

I hope that helps and if we want to look at the only silver lining to trump, it’s that any of us paying attention are getting a great lesson in American civics and our legal system! 😜

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russellbeattie t1_jedoip7 wrote

Reply to comment by PoniesRBitchin in eli5 What does “indicted” mean? by jcw10489

> The trial is where the same jury who voted to indict a person will now hear evidence

This is incorrect. Grand juries decide on multiple cases during their term of service (6 months to a year), determining if there's enough evidence in each to indict. Then they are released from service.

70 days is for federal courts and is regularly extended.

Once a trial begins, a bunch of random other citizens are summoned creating a pool of potential jurors, then each side gets to dismiss a certain number that they don't like and whoever is left becomes the trial jury.

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GalFisk t1_jedoehw wrote

Reply to comment by Lokiorin in ELI5 Leasing vs Purchasing by SquishyEmerald

I leased an EV for two years, because i wanted to try it out. It cost me the same per month in total as my old gas car cost to keep running with parts and fuel. When the lease was up, I had moved and no longer needed a car at all, so I was happy to give it back.

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iCameToLearnSomeCode t1_jedodum wrote

Reply to comment by SeattleCovfefe in ELI5: If the chemical dopamine stimulates a 'feel good' sensation, is there a chemical that makes us angry? by Kree_Horse

>In a sense you can say that the virus does have a “reason” to do so so that it can reproduce.

Viruses do not reproduce.

They are a chemical that your body replicates when given the chance.

Saying that the virus makes people aggressive to spread itself is disingenuous at best and completely the ignores the topic.

The virus doesn't make people aggressive, it causes swelling in the brain and damage to neurons required to think rationally. This results in people becoming afraid, people who are irrational and afraid become aggressive because the fight or flight response is triggered by these stimuli.

The flight or fight response is caused by a huge rush of adrenaline and cortisol which is the actual question OP was asking about, the chemicals involved in emotions and feelings.

The only thing the Rabies virus is doing is killing your brain tissue, the symptoms of that coincidentally make spreading the virus more likely.

It would be like saying chlorine reacts with your skin to cause a rash, it skips all the important parts of why rashes form on contact with chlorine and implies an agency that chlorine doesn't have.

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urzu_seven t1_jedo7ql wrote

Reply to comment by degening in ELI5 How Zeno's Paradox is a paradox? by TheFlaccidCarrot

>You are assuming language is logically consistent, it is not.

You declaring something to be true (or not true) does not make it so.

Nor does the paradox (it is a paradox btw, you don't get to unilaterally define what a paradox is or is not and the above is definitely accepted as a valid paradox) depending ALL language being logically consistent, it is, in fact that language can express logically inconsistent statements that allows paradoxes.

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>You are assuming logically consistent systems are also complete, they are not.

This has literally nothing to do with the original statement OR the comment you are replying to.

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porcelainvacation t1_jednw1s wrote

Reply to comment by I-Am-Ron-Swanson in ELI5 Leasing vs Purchasing by SquishyEmerald

We still have a 2004 Honda CRV, we bought it brand new, paid it off 17 years ago, maintained it, and it still is perfectly reliable with 280k miles on it. At this point we bought a newer car because we got a really sweet deal on a 2020 Volvo and the Honda is our supply chain insurance policy and my airport long term parking lot beater. It has liability only insurance and it costs me nothing but gasoline and the occasional oil change to keep because I’ll just donate it to someone if it breaks down. I have gotten well more than my money’s worth out of that car.

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SeattleCovfefe t1_jednl7l wrote

Reply to comment by iCameToLearnSomeCode in ELI5: If the chemical dopamine stimulates a 'feel good' sensation, is there a chemical that makes us angry? by Kree_Horse

The line between “alive” and “not alive” is somewhat fuzzy and viruses straddle that line even though we classify them generally as “not alive”. They don’t have their own energy metabolism but they do have their own genetic material, and undergo evolution and “survival of the fittest” in the same way as life does. So the virus has evolved to “make” its hosts aggressive because it helps it spread. In a sense you can say that the virus does have a “reason” to do so so that it can reproduce.

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xnyer t1_jedngwc wrote

Reply to ELi5 If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into? by cashmoneyhash

One time someone asked this question and someone gave the example of a computer screen and it totally clicked for me. Imagine the universe is a computer screen. When we say the universe is expanding we’re not saying the screen is getting bigger. It’s not going from a 30 inch to a 40 inch. The universe is already infinite it can’t get bigger. We’re saying the resolution is getting better. A few billion years ago it was standard definition. Two pixels on opposite sides were a few hundred pixels apart. Today though it’s 4K. Thousands of pixels apart. They didn’t actually move into new areas but now there’s more space between them. Get it?

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