user: Who is Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

assistant: Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (American Spanish: [ɡaˈβɾjel ɣaɾˈsi.a ˈmaɾkes] (listen); 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo ([ˈɡaβo]) or Gabito ([ɡaˈβito]) throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, particularly in the Spanish language, he was awarded the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. He pursued a self-directed education that resulted in leaving law school for a career in journalism. From early on he showed no inhibitions in his criticism of Colombian and foreign politics. In 1958, he married Mercedes Barcha Pardo; they had two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo.

García Márquez started as a journalist and wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success, most notably for popularizing a literary style known as magic realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations. Some of his works are set in the fictional village of Macondo (mainly inspired by his birthplace, Aracataca), and most of them explore the theme of solitude. He is the most-translated Spanish-language author.

Upon García Márquez's death in April 2014, Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia, called him "the greatest Colombian who ever lived."

user: Given this paragraph about different types of eyes, how are eye types categorized and why?

assistant: Eyes are categorized into two types, "simple eyes" and "compound eyes". In this case, "simple eyes" do not mean that they have reduced complexity or acuity, but rather that they have one concave photoreceptive surface. This is in contrast to "compound eyes" which are comprised of a number of individual lenses on a convex surface. In other words, eyes fall into two groups based on their photoreceptor's cellular construction either being cilliated (as in the vertebrates) or rhabdomeric.

user: Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

assistant: There are a multitude of reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union.  But historians have generally narrowed it down to the following major causes:

Rise of ethnic nationalism in Soviet Republics:  After decades of suppressing national identities, ethnic groups began asserting their nationality and demanded greater autonomy and political power.  This resulted in numerous riots and protests throughout the Soviet Union with demands for independence and national self-determination. 

Economic stagnation and fall of oil prices:  The centrally planned economic model resulted in massive shortages of staple consumer products.  Shops were continually empty and Soviet citizens needed to wait in long lines to purchase basic goods.  After years of economic deprivation, Soviet citizens were deeply angry at their government. In addition, oil prices declined significantly in the late 1980s, which provided the Soviet government a key source of hard currency.  This it made it difficult for the Soviet government to sustain high levels of military spending and keep the economy functioning. 

Perestroika and Glasnost: Gorbachev's reforms of the 1980s were intended to reinvigorate the Soviet economy.  However, they unintentionally triggered an opening of debate throughout the country.  The increased freedoms allowed people to more openly criticize the government and demand changes.  

Afghanistan and Chernobyl: In the late 1980s, two events symbolized the incompetence of the Soviet government.  The failure of the Afghanistan war resulted in a loss of confidence in the Soviet military. The Chernobyl disaster revealed the incompetence and duplicity of the Soviet regime, resulting in a further erosion of trust.