system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does banging on electronics still seem to "fix" them?

We all know this idea. Just now, my cable remote stopped functioning and despite flashing lights, it wouldn't change the channel until I gave it a good hard smack. This has been the way for fixing basic electronics for as long as I've lived. Is this purely coincidental or is something better than shifting the batteries happening here?
gpt
It depends on the reason that your electronics are broken.  In some cases, there may be a loose connection that you reseat by banging on it.  You'll probably notice that the more often you perform "percussive maintenance", the more often you need to do it, as the connections are getting worse because you're actually causing damage at the same time.