Technology
Exploring "Why" questions about Technology
491 articles
Why do really long exposure photos weigh more MB? Shouldn’t every pixel have the same amount of information regardless of how many seconds it was exposed?
The jpeg format we store photos in is designed to store a good photograph efficiently. A good photo has large areas of smooth, even gradients, and Jpeg does a great job of *compressing* these to take
Why do most bipedal robots always keep their knees bent a bit when standing?
I'm still an industrial electronics student but if I had to guess I would say that it is because when engineers program robots they are given a "home position" that the robot stays in. In this case th
Why do books downloaded from the library need to be “returned” after a given amount of time?
> This makes no sense because downloads are not limited like physical copies of books are. Downloads are limited in the sense that the library has to pay for every copy of a book that they own, inc
Why is the 1-2-3 on the top row of a phone keypad but on the bottom row of a calculator?
the first phones with an actual keypad used it to match the old rotary phones, which had the lowest number first. calculators existed before that, and had already established the 7-8-9 on the top row
Why is the US tax code so exploitable?
It's set up so that the government isn't taxing you for things that they shouldn't. It's up to you to declare the things that are "immune" to being taxed. Some people are more savvy when it comes to d
Why when TV shows use computers do they use fake operating systems?
Two reasons: 1. Product placement. Companies pay good money for movies and TV shows to show their products, so the shows' producers wouldn't want to "give it away for free".
Why so many Japanese shows have people live reacting to content on screen?
It's the Japanese equivalent of the laugh track or other audience reaction recordings on an American or other Western show. Just like how a western sitcom will have a laugh track to let the audience n
why are weapons used to hunt animals always piercing but those used to kill men could be hacking/slashing as well?
I'd say it's mostly to do with the distance factor. A spear or arrow can be used to kill an animal from about 25-50yds, give or take. A slashing or cutting weapon would require you to be less than a c
Why are phones so much more expensive than other mobile technology???
Miniaturization. It's the same reason laptops are more expensive than desktops. It's pricier to make things smaller.
Why do our voices sound robotic when we speak into the fan?
Because the fan blades reflect the sound back at you, like any hard surface will. The difference is the fan has gaps in it that are are whizzing past. So you're getting hard surface, gap, hard surface