In Liar Liar , Jim Carrey gains the superpower of not being able to lie for 24 hours. Wikipedia defines lying as ... a statement used intentionally for the purpose of deception. The practice of communicating lies is called lying, and a person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Does this mean he just wasn't able to say anything deceptive, or does it mean he wasn't able to say anything that was false? I always thought it was the former, but there is one scene in the movie where he says... I'm a bad father ...then looks shocked that he was able to say it on the day he wasn't able to lie, indicating that, according to the movie's logic, he cannot utter false statements. In short, my questions are, in Liar Liar, can Jim Carrey say a statement if: It is true but he genuinely believes it to be false? It is false but he genuinely believes it to be true? It may be true or false but he has no idea either way? Answer In the original script , we see that Fletcher...

In the opening scene of Prometheus , do we know why the alien eats the thing that kills him? The alien looks at his spaceship and then eats the thing that modifies his DNA after killing him. Answer At this time, no. There has been a lot of discussion and speculation regarding whether the scene was a depiction of an engineer seeding life on the planet - or initiating the destruction of life by introducing the alien/xenomorph DNA. The bonus materials on the DVD/Blu-Ray may shed some more insight into this, but I believe it was intentionally vague.

In the wizarding world, it's possible to come back as a ghost, and remain in the world we know. Since ghosts are rare, it can be deduced that most people wouldn't choose to become one, but some of the Death Eaters might have feared death enough to consider it. In addition, the Death Eaters who died all died before the Dark Lord himself did, so why didn't the more devoted ones decide to come back to help him? Answer I think there are actually several different possible answers we can formulate based on the evidence presented to us within the books. TL:DR It's a super big and terrible commitment for some mischief Voldemort It’s actually entirely plausible that after his years at Hogwarts Voldemort publicly denounced the ghost ‘life’. His entire life was devoted to increasing his power and finding a way to live forever. I think we can say with utmost certainty that if he regarded life as ghost with any amount of respect he would have chosen to continue on as a ghost hims...

The plot is about: A spaceship travelling through the universe Earth is a rogue planet whose inhabitants have been cut off and don't realise that their true purpose is to be part of the spaceship The reason earth was in turmoil (wars etc.) was that they didn't realise that their true role was to fit into the ship The ship contained 3 or 4 beings that made the thing work Planets throughout the universe are populated with the various beings which are components of the space craft I seem to remember like an eye shaped being Each of them fulfil their role Humans are part of that as well. There are loads of planets with humans on but earth has gotten overlooked so it never realised that's what they were designed for The story concludes with the ships picking up someone from Earth and with the "human" realising that this is what they should really be doing Humans have a different name that explains their role in the ship. I probably read it around 30 years ago in Englis...

In the seventh Harry Potter book/movie, Harry, Ron and Hermione broke into Gringotts. They didn't do it in secret. Everyone knows about it. Were they ever punished for this? Or did the ministry show mercy because their purpose was noble? Answer No they weren't. Once the war ended, none of them faced any sort of trial (that we know of). Harry and Ron were subsequently appointed to the post of Auror at the Ministry of Magic itself and Hermione returned to Hogwarts. My guess is that considering the young age of the protagonists, the extenuating circumstances involved, the fact that they'd almost single-handedly saved the world and the general lack of " public interest " in prosecuting (not to mention the poor treatment of the goblins by Voldemort's death eaters) that no-one was willing to charge them with a crime. Also, as @Rojo has pointed out, the next Minister for Magic was Kingsley Shacklebolt , a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Since the Minister evide...

In Episode III, you see that Venator-class Star Destroyers can land, load troops and perform other logistical operations and in Episode II, you see the same with Acclamator-class cruisers. Does this apply to the Imperial-class Star Destroyers too? They are bigger than both the Venator and Acclamator classes - is there any appearance of a landed Imperial-class Star Destroyer? Answer I don't have a source at hand to confirm, but Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections showed ANH-era ISDs having no landing gear . That isn't 100% conclusive since Naboo starfighters used repulsors for landing gear. Somewhat orthogonally, the Lusankya (SSD of Isard from X-Wing series) flew UP from the surface of Coruscant - but it was built there, so that neither supports nor disproves the theory. Conclusion: We don't have firm proof either way from canon, but the vague indication (lack of landing gear) points to "They can't land. Or rather, they can land but only once :)"

In a Star Trek TNG episode called "Brothers" Data takes over the ship by throwing his voice and pretending to be Captain Picard. The computer is aware of where Picard actually is on the ship due to its internal sensors, so why would it allow someone who it knows to not be Picard access simply by throwing their voice?

Wade Owen Watts is only 18 when Ready Player One takes place. He also attends school. Yet he somehow has enough time to memorize everything in James Halliday's atlas! Not only is he super-amazing at every 80's videogame he's ever played, he also is outstanding in every TV show of the 80's, knows every book, knows every band and even memorized every movie so much so that he can verbally recite Wargames from memory! How did Watts possibly have time for all this? Answer He spent 5 years doing this, double-full-time. Over the past five years , I’d downloaded every single movie, TV show, and cartoon mentioned in Anorak’s Almanac. ( Level One, 0001 ) As in, probably 8-9 hours a day (assuming 6.5 hours for school, 2 hours a day eating/hygiene, 6.5-7.5 hours sleep) on weekdays and pretty much entire day (15 hours) on weekends/holidays. If he's anything like me or other Aspergers-light nerds who grew up in the 80s, he probably spent 2 less hours sleeping and 2 more geeking...

When Yoda was a Padawan, could the Jedi have thought he was the Chosen One?

Killing is said to fracture one's soul and Voldemort uses this to create horcruxes. I always assumed that it was because of the evil intention and the act of killing someone was what caused the soul to split. Does killing by accident also cause one's soul to splinter?

We, of course, know that the Shire did export a few goods, such as Longbottom leaf which was at some point found in Orthanc. However, do we know if the Shire also imported any goods and traded with other communities on a regular basis? If so, with whom? I'm only interested in canon, ie the books and any letters that Tolkien may have written. Answer Hobbits of the Shire certainly had dealings with Dwarves on a regular basis; the chapter Shadow of the Past notes: The ancient East-West Road ran through the Shire to its end at the Grey Havens, and dwarves had always used it on their way to their mines in the Blue Mountains. They were the hobbits' chief source of news from distant parts – if they wanted any: as a rule dwarves said little and hobbits asked no more. It's also the case that they had economic dealings with these same Dwarves, as we learn in The Quest of Erebor : You do not know much about the Shire-folk, Glóin. I suppose you think them simple, because they are ge...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy obviously covers a lot of time. How many months/years pass from the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring until the end of The Return of the King ? A timeline of events would be exceptionally helpful. Answer The best timeline I have seen which includes dates and times for the Fellowship of the Ring can be found at The Lord of the Rings Fanatics network. There are four parts to their timeline and each lists the paths of the major participants in the fellowship and events related to the characters. The fine graphic created at xkcd , is more of a story-path tracker than an actual timeline. The LotR Timeline was designed by: Philip Kooijman © 2001.

Although not completely analogous, there do seem to be some similarities between Sauron's "soul" embodied in the One Ring and Voldemort's "soul" embodied in a Horcrux. Has JKR ever talked about the inspiration of creating the Horcrux idea? I'm wondering if she has ever discussed this aspect in her numerous interviews/tweets/etc.

The Galactic Republic was corrupt. Many of its Senators and bureaucrats were corrupt. That became clear when the Senate would not lift a tentacle to save Naboo from attack by the Trade Federation when its people were dying. Surely the Jedi knew the Republic was a democracy in name only, and that it was hopelessly corrupt. It was probably corrupt centuries before a politician named Palpatine began manipulating the Trade Federation and Naboo towards war. They surely knew - or should have known - the inner worlds became wealthy by oppressing the outer rim worlds. This oppression led to many outer rim worlds breaking away from the Republic to create the Confederacy of Independent Systems. By supporting it as peacekeepers and negotiators, the Jedi helped prolong the suffering of people affected by corrupt governments and corporations. Why would the idealistic Jedi serve a corrupt system? Edit: I am offering a bounty for an answer because none of the answers so far really satisfy the questio...

‘So the boy ... the boy must die?’ asked Snape, quite calmly. ‘And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.’ Deathly Hallows - page 551 - UK Hardcover - chapter 33, The Prince's Tale Dumbledore tells Snape it is 'essential' that Voldemort be the one to kill Harry, I'm assuming in order for the piece of Voldemort's soul in Harry to be properly killed as well. But why? Hermione destroyed the Hufflepuff cup; Ron destroyed the Slytherin locket; Neville killed Nagini; Harry destroyed the diadem and Tom Riddle's diary. So the Horcruxes were not immune to destruction at the hand of someone other than Voldemort. And as it ended up, Harry himself wasn't even a Horcrux, but rather just an unknowing host to a parasitic bit of Voldemort's soul. Why was it 'essential' that Voldemort be the one to kill Harry in order for the piece of Voldemort's soul to die? Answer I thought it had to do with the protection Harry's mother gave him b...

I am asking myself if there is a time difference between the events in Thor and The Avengers ? Is Loki presumed dead a long time?

I've read various forums suggesting he is an Omega Level Mutant (I agree with others that this term maybe needs rewording or defining) however in my experience he has never been officially mentioned as Omega Level. Some feats that he has managed should put him at Omega Level. As far as I can see Magneto should be Omega Level as I think he is powerful enough to alter the environments on Earth by doing something with the Earth's Magnetic Field which in theory this could destroy the world. If someone could give some extracts/info on the limit of the his powers. It would be great Cheers Answer By officially, you mean mentioned by Marvel comics writers either in writing, or in passing dialog in a comic, to be an Omega-level mutant, then the answer is NO. No Marvel text has ever mentioned him as an Omega-level mutant. This is just a sign of what a lack of documentation and standards will get you. An unclear definition of exactly an Omega level mutant is, and who qualifies. So in th...

This was a story I read a long time ago, I believe from Asimov's magazine in the early 1980s (1982?), about a pilot or soldier in an alternate World War I that lasted much longer than it did in our world (at least 20 years). The main character finds a way to possibly end the war by sending himself to an alternate reality. He does this by sending up a flare that would signal the end of the latest battle, and ends up in a world where World War II lasted longer, into the late 1940s. There, he has an encounter with a black American pilot flying a WW2 era aircraft which the protagonist notes is more advanced than those he is familiar with.

I blame fan fic for this question, in particular a fic wherein Harry becomes an Animagus in the form of a Niffler. The Niffler is a British beast. Fluffy, black, and long-snouted, this burrowing creature has a predilection for anything glittery. Nifflers are often kept by goblins to burrow deep into the earth for treasure. Though the Niffler is gentle and even affectionate, it can be destructive to belongings and should never be kept in a house. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Page 30 - Scholastic Books Q: Are there any instances of an individual whose Animagus form is a magical creature? For sources, let's please stick to any magical creature found in the seven novels and three ancillary books , tidbits from Pottermore, or creatures as described in interviews with J. K. Rowling. Please note that I am not a fan of the Harry Potter wikia as a source.

A while back, I read a story in a collection, but I don't remember very much. I know that it was about some missionaries on Mars. Eventually they found a bunch of spheres that apparently have escaped sin by leaving the material world. I don't remember anything else about it. Someone told me that it was in "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury, but I checked my copy and couldn't find. I'm pretty sure that it was by Ray Bradbury though. Help would be greatly appreciated. Answer You are describing Ray Bradbury's "The Fire Balloons" . I read it in The Illustrated Man . It is in other compilations, too. A story summary on Wikipedia : A group of priests travel to Mars to act as missionaries to the Martians. They discover that the natives are entities of pure energy. Since they lack corporeal form, they are unable to commit sin, and thus do not need redemption.

I seem to remember a short story I read once that had an alien protagonist on a metallic world (trees with solar panels, full metallic ecosystem, etc). It was sort of mechanical/robotic, had a 'wife' that was manufacturing a child, hunted other machines with spears for parts, etc. Humans land, and the protagonist can't figure out what they are (thinking that the big one had offspring or probes or something), captures one or two small ones, kills one (accidentally?) and can't figure out why it has an outer skin and no metal. Other holds his 'wife' hostage and gets back to big one. Protagonist tries to kill big one but it escapes (takes off) I think. Anyone have any idea what story I may be talking about? EDIT: landers aren't explicitly stated as human, just squishy bodies in soft-suits that confuse the protagonist. Protagonist is not really technologically advanced (think prehistoric level of intelligence). Can't remember if it was first- or third-person.

An excellent answer by @Daniel Bingham for " Was the Millennium Falcon too slow? " stated: Even with a well traveled hyperspace route the fastest ships, such as the Millennium Falcon, would take several months to traverse the whole diameter of the galaxy. Elsewhere the Galaxy was quoted as being 120,000 light years in diameter. ... Using that we can find that a class 1/2 hyperdrive would travel at about 28 light years per hour. To which the following comment was posted: @Daniel your in-edit calculations are off by a double order of magnitude ... the travel times for crossing the galaxy in current canon are in double digit hours... not triple digit days . WEG got it wrong in SW 1E, and LFL made them change it later. But then, as nick notes, Sci-Fi Writers have no sense of Scale. – aramis May 18 '11 at 17:44 Question: What exactly is the canon source for the information in the comment? (" the travel times for crossing the galaxy in current canon are in double digit h...

I think it's safe to say that Bruce Wayne (being the secret identity of Batman) is a master in numerous skills and abilities, just to name a few: Martial Arts Intelligence Stealth & disguise Scientific/technological know-how etc. Brilliant stuff. But is he actually certified in anything? Did he go to college/university and graduate? Answer Batman has about eighteen different back-stories so I'll just focus on a couple. In the comic series " Night of the Stalker " (originally appearing in 1974 in Detective Comics #439, we see that he has a diploma on his wall. Closer inspection reveals it to be from Yale University of Law . In Batman #93 (in a segment called "Batman's College Days") we learn that he has a degree in Criminology from Gotham University And in Batman Begins , we see that young Bruce is on the verge of dropping out of Princeton University: ALFRED : Will you be heading back to Princeton tomorrow or could I persuade you to spend an extra...

How/Why/When did the house elves start serving wizards? I tried on my own to find the answer but I couldn't find anything relevant to my subject but I am bad at searching.

Over how many months (or maybe a year?) does The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan take place? I know it starts in spring, since the Bel Tine festival is celebrating that, but how long does it actually take them to get from Emond's Field to the Eye of the World? Answer The beginning of The Eye of the World happens in the mid to late spring of 998 NE. Bel Tine is not a specific day, but rather celebrates the "arrival" of spring to whatever local village is celebrating. The further north you go, the later that festival happens. The book ends early that summer, so the entire novel takes perhaps two months in all. As we later find out, only the most formal scholars and documents bother with things like calendars and months in the Westlands, so it's hard to be any more precise than that when none of the members of the Eye of the World party could even tell you what day it was. The entire series (all 14 novels) have only covered about 2 full years of time. A Memory Of Lig...

One of the sellers of magic wands, Ollivander, sells wands with Dragon heartstring, Phoenix feather, or Unicorn hair cores in them. What does JKR say about how the wandmakers get the core materials into the wands? Answer As far as I know there is no canon reference to how the wandmakers get the core into the actual wood of the wand; J.K. Rowling doesn't address this through Pottermore either. However, I noticed that Ollivander (in the Pottermore links above) references his father 'wrestling' to get the core material into the wand, which would perhaps suggest that the process is difficult. Just as a Harry Potter fan, I would imagine that getting a wand core into a wand is exceedingly difficult and, yes, is a magical process. Too bad it's not detailed further. The second thing I noticed was under unicorn hair. JKR says that the unicorn hair core is most prone to melancholy (meaning it will mope and die if not attended to on occasion) and must be replaced, so clearly ...

The plot goes like this: a boy goes to an arcade and plays a game with this girl. He is the pilot and she is the shooter. Somewhere in middle of the game they switch places. It turns out that the game was just a test to find someone to work for this company. They get recruited, and I do not remember what happens after that. It is not Ender's Game . Answer Was it The Roar by Emma Clayton? I think I read the same book and I can't find it anywhere, it's driving me crazy. I looked at The Roar and I've read it before, but I don't know if it's the right one. Mika and Ellie live in a future behind a wall: Solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs, it was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. At least that's what Ellie, who was kidnapped as a child, has always been taught. But when she comes to suspect the truth behind her captivity, she's ready to risk exposure to the elements a...

In the Avengers: Age of Ultron, after the Scepter is first retrieved from Sokovia, Jarvis studies the mind stone within the scepter, and Tony Stark shows Bruce Banner a 3D projection of the mind stone's consciousness. When Stark and Banner try to create an interface to the mind stone's consciousness, the side effect is that the mind stone somehow turns the then potential Ultron into something unintended. ... So the implication is that Ultron is a manifestation of the mind stone. But later in the movie, after Ultron and Dr. Cho create a new body for the mind stone, and after Jarvis is uploaded into the body, Thor uses his hammer to bring the body to life in the form of The Vision, which also seems to be a manifestation of the mind stone. If the mind stone is so universally powerful, then why are its two manifestations at war with each other? Why are Ultron and The Vision not of the same mind about things? The Vision has the power to reach into a (later) weakened Ultron and pur...

Is there a difference between a spaceship and a starship? I've been wondering... is it like boats and ships?

Is there any sort of magic, besides the Force, existing in the Star Wars universe? What triggered me to ask this question were the Nightsisters . The Wookieepedia article refers to their powers as "magicks" and seems to present deeds unseen in other force users: The most powerful of them could use that ichor to summon objects out of the thin air, transform people into ghostly versions of their true forms, or even reanimate the dead. I have found one description of them in Star Wars Encyclopedia that almost alludes to the Dark Side of the Force once; however it does so without a proper citation, and only actually says "gifted with the power to wield dark magicks", avoiding the topic. Answer As far as I'm aware, there's NO magic that is explicitly canonically noted to be NOT force based (with one disputed exception - see #2). In other words, anytime a magic or something similar is mentioned, it's either: Force abilities being called "magic", b...

I once read on TV Tropes that the video game Civilization V implied that the entire thing was run by aliens who resurrected famous human leaders in order to have them battle each other. It now seems to have been removed. This certainly sounds possible, but TV Tropes is generally very unmoderated, even by community wiki standards. We also know that aliens exist in the Civilization universe, because among other reasons, Civilization: Beyond Earth features them heavily. Is it ever actually directly implied or stated in-game that Civilization V is run by aliens? Answer One can't prove a negative, but no evidence has been found to support this. The description of Civilization V , taken straight from the official website , just states that the player is striving to become ruler of the world (and this description is no different than other board or computer games): In Civilization® V, players strive to become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the daw...

One of the main plots of Dance of Dragons is The travel of Quentyn Martell to meet Daenerys Targaryen with the objective of setting up an alliance and, maybe, establishing it by marriage. Sadly, his journey is suddenly stopped when one of Daenerys' dragons burns him to ashes. Well, after reading the book it felt quite strange for me that Martin had dedicated so many book pages to a story, apparently, without real impact on the big picture. But speaking of it recently with my girlfriend (who is quite a visionary I must say), she stated that the reason is that Quentyn's story is one narrative arc that fulfills one of the Mirri Maz Duur's prophecy about the future children of Daenerys, the part that states "When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east". I was quite shocked by the revelation, as to my understanding it fits quite well on the prophecy and explains why so many pages to start and end an inoffensive story arc, but I wonder if there is some other cl...

[Yes, The Hobbit movies are nonsense. But how could I call myself a fantasy fan if I didn't demand my nonsense be as logical as possible?] Tauriel is presented as a highly-skilled fighter and a combatant for the side of good. Despite this, she apparently did nothing during Sauron's war on the free peoples. Was she somehow still mourning Killi, after all these decades? Was she dead? Or is there another reason she didn't participate? Answer Unknown, but she probably went back to Mirkwood Tauriel is an original character in the Jacksonverse, and only exists within it. No authoritative information about her fate after the Battle of Five Armies has been revealed. However, in a 2014 interview with Hero Complex 1 , Tauriel's actress Evangeline Lilly gave her thoughts, for however much value you ascribe to actor opinions (italic is their emphasis, bold is mine): HC: What do you think happens to [Tauriel] after the events of “Five Armies”? EL: You know, it's going to sou...

Between 4 and 5 years ago I found a story in which in short order, Harry failed to turn up at the sorting during first year, following this several teachers (including Minerva, possibly) went to check on Harry, but found that years earlier he'd died as a result of the actions of the Dursleys, and Vernon and Petunia were in jail but soon would be getting released, so they visited the unmarked grave of Harry, and buried him with his parents, before they discovered that there was still a chance to prevent the tragedy through traveling back in time about 10 years, and so Snape volunteered. Answer I think it was “ Fixing Past Mistakes .” By DebsTheSlytherinSnapefan “Harry didn't appear at Hogwarts causing concern. Albus immediately heads out to Privet Drive to find out what was going on, along with Minerva and a reluctant Severus Snape. What they find out changes everything for everyone in the wizarding world. Is there a chance for anyone to go back and fix past mistakes? is there...

My question is straightforward. Does the Sorting Hat speak only to the person wearing it, or to the Great Hall? Did all of the students hear it say, "Not Slytherin, eh?" when Harry used it? Answer The Sorting Hat can whisper . "Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? ... Well, if you're sure---better be GRYFFINDOR!" Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone . "The Sorting Hat;" emphasis added So, the Sorting Hat holds conversations much like a normal person. It can modulate its voice for a personal remark or shout for the whole hall to hear.

When I was young I read a short story about a creature made of plasma ejected from the sun by a solar flare. It flew through space and hit the boiling hot sun-facing side of Mercury, whereupon it 'froze' to death. It blew my mind. I thought it was from Arthur C Clarke, but I can't seem to find it. Any help would be appreciated. Answer The story you're describing is " Out of the Sun " by Arthur C Clarke. We were looking at what seemed to be a translucent oval, its interior laced with a network of almost invisible lines. Where the lines crossed, there appeared to be tiny, pulsing nodes of light; we could never be quite sure of their existence because the radar took almost a minute to paint the complete picture on the screen—and between each sweep the object moved several thousand miles. There was no doubt, however, that the network itself existed; the cameras settled any arguments about that. later Then the radar screen was empty, wiped clean during a single s...