Dinosaurs (Intelligence)

ELI5 - Dinosaurs were around for millions of years. Why didn't they become more intelligent?

Smarter doesn't always mean better. It often takes more energy to run a bigger brain. If your current level of smarts works well for your life, having a bigger brain could actually be a problem. Evolution doesn't aim for intelligence as its main goal; there are different ways to survive and reproduce without needing to be super smart.

That said, we know some dinosaurs like parrots and corvids are pretty clever. But does this mean all non-bird dinosaurs were not very smart?

By Alex 1 year ago

Olive Oil (Grade)

ELI5 - What makes a bottle of olive oil "virgin"?

The first pressing of olive oil cannot use heat or solvents to get the oil out of the olives - mechanical pressing only. The oil from that pressing is graded:

Extra virgin - Fruity, has no defects, and has a free acidity that is less than or equal to 0.8.

Virgin - Has minimal defects and is found to have a free acidy between 0.8 and 2.0.

After that, heat and/or solvents can be used to extract the remaining oil from the olives. That oil is just "olive oil" without the virgin designation.

By drollparadox7655 1 year ago

Planck Length

ELI5 - How is Planck length the shortest distance possible? Couldn’t you just split that length in half and have 1/2 Planck length?

The Planck length isn't the shortest distance possible, but rather represents the limit our current understanding of physics breaks down, being the scale at which the theories of both quantum mechanics and general relativity are simultaneously necessary, yet cannot be applied together without inconsistency. General relativity does not account for quantum effects, and quantum mechanics in its current capacity, does not provide an explanation for the effects of gravity.

In order to measure progressively smaller distances, photons with shorter wavelengths, and thus higher frequency/energy, are required. Quantum mechanics would suggest you could keep increasing a photon's energy to measure smaller and smaller scales, but general relativity predicts, due to mass-energy equivalence, as the photon's energy increases, so would gravitational effect until, eventually, a black hole forms.

This clash between QM and GR at the Planck length highlights the need for a unified theory of quantum gravity that can describe how gravity works at these tiny scales.

By Alex 4 months ago

Gluten Intolerance

ELI5 - After 30,000 years of humanity surviving off of bread, how do we have so many people—within the last decade, especially—who are allergic to gluten?

It's unclear why more people are developing gluten intolerance. While some claims may be exaggerated, there is a real increase in cases. Gluten intolerance, different from celiac disease, could be linked to changes in our gut microbiome or in the way we process bread.

The gut microbiome's role is still being explored, and while it's a likely factor, our understanding is limited. If you have questions, I might help.

Regarding bread processing, one theory suggests that wheat germ, which is nutritious, aids in gluten digestion. Modern methods often remove the germ for longer shelf life, losing these nutrients. Although we add back certain vitamins and minerals to flour, it's possible we're missing something crucial that prevents gluten intolerance. This could be related to immune responses or changes in gut bacteria. But, the exact cause remains unknown.

By Alex 11 months ago

Timbre

ELI5 - A piano and a violin can play the same note but their sound differs; you can tell them apart. How do notes differ with each instrument, but retain the characteristics of its assigned pitch?

Sounds are mainly characterized by pitch, loudness, and quality. Pitch refers to how high or low a sound is, based on the frequency of sound waves. Loudness is simply the volume of the sound. Timbre, or the quality of sound, is what makes different instruments like a piano and a violin sound distinct, even if they play the same note at the same pitch and loudness. It includes elements like harmonic content, attack, decay, and vibrato, which affect the sound's texture without altering its pitch or loudness.

Key factors in timbre are attack—the way a sound begins and reaches full volume—and overtones, which are additional frequencies present along with the main pitch. While you mainly hear the fundamental frequency or pitch of a note, overtones add depth and richness, creating the unique character of each instrument. So, when a piano and a violin play the same note, what makes them sound different are these subtle variations in how the sound starts, its overtones, and the changes in loudness throughout the note.

By drollparadox7655 1 year ago

CPU

ELI5 - What is a CPU, what does it do, and how does it work?

A CPU (central processing unit), often called the brain of a computer, is a complex circuit made of billions of on-off switches called transistors. By using a kind of logic called Boolean, these transistors are organized into small circuits that act like tiny programs. These programs, known as logic gates (like AND, IF, OR), allow the CPU to do calculations. These calculations help in processing everything from 3D graphics to sound.

By drollparadox7655 1 year ago