#2501: Average Familiarity explain

[Ponytail and Cueball are talking. Ponytail has her hand raised, palm up, towards Cueball.]

Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so it’s 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.