Editing 2501: Average Familiarity
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| image = average familiarity.png | | 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!" | | 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!" | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | 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 | + | 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 H<sub>2</sub>O for water or CO<sub>2</sub> 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 | + | 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 (SiO<sub>2</sub>) 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 SiO<sub>4</sub> 'units' (sharing oxygen atoms) and other residual constituents dictating the general colour, feel and other 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 [or is indoors with brick and tile]) but the randomly-selected rock being ''thrown'' also has a very high chance of being a silicate mineral rock. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Ponytail and Cueball are talking. Ponytail has her | + | :[Ponytail and Cueball are standing and talking. Ponytail has her palm raised.] |
− | :Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so | + | :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. | :Cueball: And quartz, of course. | ||
:Ponytail: Of course. | :Ponytail: Of course. | ||
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:[Caption below the panel] | :[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. | :Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Geology]] | [[Category:Geology]] | ||
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