2501: Average Familiarity
| Average Familiarity |
| "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!" Title text: "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!" |
Explanation
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This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by A SILICATE (DON'T WE ALL KNOW THE FORMULA?). Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. |
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 geologists specializing in silicate chemistry. The scientists are under the impression other people at least know the chemical makeup of feldspar and quartz. In truth, the "average Joe" can't be expected to know the chemical makeup of any arbitrarily-chosen substance reliably (or any material at all, if the average Joe's job and hobby do not involve chemistry), and may not even know the definition of "feldspar" beyond "a rock".
The title text plays on the term "you can't throw a rock without hitting one," a common hyperbole about how common something is. Indeed, silicate rocks are extremely common on Earth.
Transcript
- 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.
- Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field.
