Explain Like I'm Five | Don't Panic!

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/dreamweaver2070 on 2023-08-12 00:59:09.

I'm aware how radiometric dating works in general and that, for example, the half-life of uranium to iron is about 4.47 billion years. What I don't understand is how scientist determine that is the correct amount of time it takes for half of the uranium atoms decay to iron. How do we know it's not actually 20 million years or 600,000 years? Please explain to me like I'm five!

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/TotallyFakeEngineer on 2023-08-11 21:40:12.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/tabstal42 on 2023-08-12 01:28:52.

I see all sorts of articles about the PAC-12 imploding but don't for the life of me know why that should matter to any individual school. Something about money? The articles frequently mention Notre Dame as an independent; why couldn't Stanford or WSU just do that?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Pliget on 2023-08-12 01:37:54.

Things like “dry aged” steak.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Samecolorasthunder on 2023-08-11 19:41:39.

There have been a lot of moves this summer and there’s currently a lot of drama about where Mbappe and Kane are going to end up, and I don’t understand how the transfer fees work or why players can reject transfers

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/jude_pk on 2023-08-11 23:33:04.

how does recycling work when it comes to polyester ?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/someSingleDad on 2023-08-12 00:39:39.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/BigBrother700 on 2023-08-11 21:15:02.

So there's something I never understood about Sherpas in the Himalayas. They lived right near these massive mountains for millennia. For whatever reason, they decided never to summit them. Then along come some Westerners and decide to do it. So the local experts become this professional/ethnic class of hired help, assist Westerners in attaining their fame, and from there on keep being these second class helpers. It's very strange to me...

1. Any idea why they never made it to the peaks themselves? No need/interest? Technical or logistical limitations (oxygen tanks, for example?)
2. Once interest/fame/money/etc. became associated with all this, why did they continue to be second class to all of it? I get that maybe in the mid-twentieth century racist attitudes and policies kept it that way, but I feel like even today it's the same thing: Western European leads the way, Sherpas are only their help.

History is rife with examples of colonists using local help for things, or importing second-class help from somewhere else, but this situation always seemed unique to me. The locals were the experts here. Why were they never front and center (for technical reasons and/or social), and still aren't? This would be to me like someone arriving on a Pacific island, inhabited by master canoers, looking out at another island clearly visible and reachable by them, and then telling them, "hey, let's go there."

UPDATE- ok, found lots of useful information here:

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/inzru on 2023-08-11 19:43:55.

Original Title: ELI5: Why do most online weather forecasts only state the chance of rain as a percantage, without stating the expected rainfall in millimetres? If there's a 90% chance of rain, it matters a lot whether it will be 0.5 or 5mm

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/takeitu on 2023-08-11 23:29:46.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/disintegrationist on 2023-08-11 23:29:32.

Example, if you look closely at a folded piece of metal that is part of a car's body, it's easy to be marveled at how flawless they are, how everything is perfectly aligned.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/HappyxThoughts on 2023-08-11 23:16:01.

I've been told that drinking puts a heavy strain on your heart. Supposedly, this is bad in the long term.

Exercise also puts a strain on your heart, forcing it to work harder to compensate for your heightened activity. Yet, this seems to strengthen the heart and LENGTHEN it's vitality. In both instances, aren't you forcing your heart (a muscle) to work harder? Why does forcing your muscle to work harder through unhealthy methods not strengthen your heart?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/BonaldRurgundy on 2023-08-11 18:33:13.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Round-Web-7623 on 2023-08-11 21:46:15.

basically just the title, Like i understand some of it on how they would be siblings but I can’t wrap my head around it.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/josip333 on 2023-08-11 21:40:01.

I can't for the life of me grasp this concept. Why do they say that, when looking at the sun, we see where it was 8 minutes ago? Why, if someone where to look at earth being 65million light years away from, would they see dinosaurs?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/TidepoolBlues on 2023-08-11 22:13:30.

I see this in various shows and movies, and it always leaves me wondering if it’s actually gonna do them any good in not getting tracked down.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Thuctran1706 on 2023-08-11 22:02:15.

So in a world with just 2 languages, for example, English and Spanish, and assuming there is only one person speaking each language and the other person doesn't know how to speak your language, how did people at the beginning of civilization learn and teach a language since no one knows the other language?

I think you can learn the vocabulary by pointing to an object and saying the word but what about the grammar and special rules? I would assume this is because the ancient languages are simple, right?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/mezonsen on 2023-08-11 20:58:36.

This only really applies to specific games, like platformers—how do level designers create nearly impossibly difficult levels when by all likelihood they can’t complete them themselves (I’m talking ridiculously difficult, 1/100,000 players kind of challenges)? How do they ensure that these difficult challenges are nearly, but not literally impossible? Do they play through the game slowly? Use tool-assisted playthroughs? Does the math ensure that they’re doable? God mode? Do they not care sometimes, and are just pleasantly surprised by the skill of players who manage to complete them? Are there any interesting stories of how this was done for specific projects?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/trainerkevin4 on 2023-08-11 19:46:44.

I just got an oil change and when I went to reset my light. My car still showed 60% oil life. Is the 5000 miles the average or a relic of the past

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/US_Dept_Of_Snark on 2023-08-11 19:30:32.

It seems strange to have the measuring unit for something be a "unit" instead of a measurement of mass. There is an agreed upon standard for what a milligram or a microgram is. Outside of the context of insulin, a "unit" is undefined and variable. Context: I'm an RN with type 1 diabetes. I understand drug concentrations and insulin dosing. This one just seems like a strange anomaly in the world of measuring medications. My only guess is that the actual hormone is so minuscule to measure that even nanograms and picograms can't do it?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/DeepSeater on 2023-08-11 19:19:44.

I’ve heard these words used interchangeably over the years, with engine being more prevalent. Is there any difference? Why is a small gas-driven device like a lawnmower commonly said to have a motor, while what is under the hood of a car is almost always referred to as an engine?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/imakecargovroom on 2023-08-11 18:13:45.

So (i assume) the first 3 dimensions are x, y, and z if you look at it on a 3d plane. What is the 4th dimension though? Are there more dimensions beyond the 3 that we have a good understanding of?

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Might_Dismal on 2023-08-11 17:46:30.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/Ovv_Topik on 2023-08-11 17:13:59.

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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/RealRoarMaster on 2023-08-11 17:38:59.

Original Title: Eli5 Why would giants like Google or Microsoft choose to let go of employees for temporary profit increases, despite their established reputation for job security that naturally attracts top talent in the market?