2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T12:20:05Z

141.101.76.239: /* Explanation */ ce myself

{{comic
| number = 2501
| date = August 11, 2021
| title = Average Familiarity
| image = average familiarity.png
| titletext = "How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!"
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that scientists vastly overestimate how familiar other people are with their own field of study. As an example, Randall shows a pair of {{w|geochemistry|geochemists}} specializing in {{w|silicate}} chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of {{w|olivine}}, some {{w|feldspar}}s and {{w|quartz}}. In truth, the average person can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of ''any'' arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if that average person's job and hobby do not involve chemistry — aside from the few that made their way into {{w|common knowledge}}, like H2O for water or CO2 for carbonic gas), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock", if at all.

It even goes so far as to initially gloss over the 'everyday' knowledge of quartz. Perhaps like a gardener forgetting to mention the lawn he maintains (along with the 'actual' plants in the borders or vegetable patches), there seemed no need to mention such a trivial inclusion in the set of things ''everybody'' knows'... until prompted by the slightly-less-overestimating partner in the conversation. Quartz is a basic silicon oxide (SiO2) that ''can'' be found as distinct large-scale crystals (probably obvious to the layman, as an ice-cube is in a drink) but also features as a hard-wearing micro-constituent of many rocks, even as erosion and other processes act upon them. At a certain high level of weathering - hazily defined as between gravels and silts - sand is overwhelmingly the ultimate residual silicon-dioxide grains in most cases (the main exception to this being coral sands, which are calcium carbonates) though with varying internal linkages as SiO4 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other and physical qualities as you enjoy your day at the beach.

The title text plays on the phrase "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, {{w|Silicate mineral|silicate}} rocks are extremely common on Earth — not only would a rock thrown in a random direction stand a decent chance of striking a silicate mineral rock (assuming the thrower is out in a field instead of indoors) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.]
:Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so its easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
:Cueball: And quartz, of course.
:Ponytail: Of course.

:[Caption below the panel]
:Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geology]]

Talk:2501: Average Familiarity

2021-08-12T08:58:36Z

141.101.76.239: /* Replaced "average Joe" with "average person" */ new section

I've never even ''heard'' of olivine. I think most people have heard of quartz (it's the crystal in most electronic watches, and it's pretty), and I suspect feldspar is somewhere in between. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:21, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

As a chemist, I heard of all of them but, fun fact, there is a mnemonic in the german language known by at least all of the elderly generation: "Feldspat, Quarz und Glimmer - die drei vergess´ ich nimmer!" thats "feldspar quartz and mica - i will never forget the three". These three are the main compunds of granite and obviously this was stuff they had to learn at school. If, in a group of silverheads, start the phrase "Feldspat Quarz und Glimmer ..." and there will always be someone to finish the sentence. --[[User:Pauliprinzip|Pauliprinzip]] ([[User talk:Pauliprinzip|talk]]) 05:45, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

:''and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock".'' Ironically, I think the person writing this may have overstated the "average Joe"'s familiarity with the word "feldspar", since I couldn't have defined it if you'd asked me. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 08:11, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

== Replaced "average Joe" with "average person" ==

Per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_related_to_an_average_person this term is specific to the US, and introduces specificity unrelated to the comic.

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2501: Average Familiarity

Talk:2501: Average Familiarity