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fusso
International Hazard
Posts: 1922
Registered: 23-6-2017
Location: 4 ∥ universes ahead of you
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How do you think the general public think of this forum?
What impression(s) do you think this forum give to the general public? How do they think of this forum and the members? How do the other professional
chemists think of us?
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j_sum1
Administrator
Posts: 6320
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: At home
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Mood: Most of the ducks are in a row
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The general public thinks I am a nerd and does not care or even know about this forum.
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solo
International Hazard
Posts: 3975
Registered: 9-12-2002
Location: Estados Unidos de La Republica Mexicana
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Mood: ....getting old and drowning in a sea of knowledge
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...not very important either way, since concerns of what others think has no value to me ....solo
It's better to die on your feet, than live on your knees....Emiliano Zapata.
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Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4581
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
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Mood: PhD candidate!
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Exactly this. Most
people would have never heard of it. Most professional people in chemistry haven't even heard of it as far as I can tell, and when they have, they
don't seem to have strong opinions either way about it.
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Loptr
International Hazard
Posts: 1348
Registered: 20-5-2014
Location: USA
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Mood: Grateful
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Why do you think ANYONE is thinking about you. Most people tend to be too much into themselves to notice, unless you some how push your way into their
focus. They probably have an opinion if prompted, but other than that they go on about their daily lives without us or this forum even coming up. That
is until someone makes the news...
"Question everything generally thought to be obvious." - Dieter Rams
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unionised
International Hazard
Posts: 5126
Registered: 1-11-2003
Location: UK
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Mood: No Mood
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There are billions of folk on Earth.
Does the forum have a rough record of how many have even seen it? If so, that data would be interesting- even a count of "unique IP addresses who have
visited" would be a start.
My guess is that the public is 99.999% or so unaware of the forum.
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Magpie
lab constructor
Posts: 5939
Registered: 1-11-2003
Location: USA
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Mood: Chemistry: the subtle science.
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I think most chemists, educators, etc are unaware of this forum. However, if you do a search on how to make a given chemical this forum will often be
at the top of the list.
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
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Mood: Electrical
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Some (probably way off) statistics:
https://www.similarweb.com/website/sciencemadness.org
https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/sciencemadness.org
Professional chemist have a very poor view of amateur chemists in general.
So I wouldn't expect them to have a good opinion of this board in general.
But we have had professional chemists involved here so it is not universal.
In the end it doesn't matter. We are here and we aren't leaving.
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symboom
International Hazard
Posts: 1143
Registered: 11-11-2010
Location: Wrongplanet
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Mood: Doing science while it is still legal since 2010
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Quote
Professional chemist have a very poor view of amateur chemists in general
But why
Here are possible answers
Cost:
It doesn't help when we improvise expensive laboratory equipment and are able to create the same thing as them for very cheap at times.
Research:
We are able to get references quicker.
I can't think of anything else
If I was a professional chemist I would hate that
too maybe it is undermining to their work.
Public thinking:
Chemistry is like breaking bad the show
[Edited on 13-10-2018 by symboom]
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Ubya
International Hazard
Posts: 1247
Registered: 23-11-2017
Location: Rome-Italy
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Mood: I'm a maddo scientisto!!!
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Quote: Originally posted by symboom  | e possible answers
Cost:
It doesn't help when we improvise expensive laboratory equipment and are able to create the same thing as them for very cheap at times.
Research:
We are able to get references quicker.
I can't think of anything else
If I was a professional chemist I would hate that
too maybe it is undermining to their work.
[Edited on 13-10-2018 by symboom] |
hahahaha i don't think so. to a professional chemist with a lab budget of many hundreds of thousands dollars we are like pigeons picking on the
street, like a chef looking at a kid making a muffin. they are not envious of us, to them we are kids playing, not worth their attention
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feel free to correct my grammar, or any mistakes i make
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unionised
International Hazard
Posts: 5126
Registered: 1-11-2003
Location: UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Did it occur to you that some of us are professional chemists?
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Sulaiman
International Hazard
Posts: 3695
Registered: 8-2-2015
Location: 3rd rock from the sun
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I can not speak for the public but I know that my wife thinks that
. Chemicals are dangerous
. Chemicals are harmful
. Chemistry is a waste of money, time and effort
. Scientists are lackeys of capitalists
other than that she is quite supportive of my stupid hobby.
my immediate neighbours are less enthusiastic about my hobby than my wife
so I assume that people who do not know me are even less enthusiastic 
______________________________________________________
Professional means paid do stuff that others want you to do for them
I'm sure that there are professionals who are also hobbyists - for the freedom.
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JScott
Hazard to Self
Posts: 51
Registered: 23-8-2018
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If the general public had any understanding of the collective capabilities of this gathering, it wouldn't find hosting anywhere. People are so easily
frightened by anything regarding chemistry they are irrational. "Breaking Bad" was the worst thing that ever happened to this hobby.
My wife just read me an article yesterday of a school somewhere in our region that was experiencing a "horrific chemical smell". The entire building
was evacuated for days. After considerable time and effort was spent, a Pumpkin air freshener was found to be the cause.
I think it was about a month back the Girl Scout museum was upturned over a first aid kit containing bandages treated with Picric acid. A bomb squad
spokesperson stated there was enough of the explosive in that first aid to kit to "level the building". I can't tell you how disappointed I was with
my own efforts after hearing that. My experiences with picric acid must have been seriously flawed. <LOL>
As someone who likes old historic artifacts, seeing the bomb squad blow up that pristine old first aid kit from 1921 was heart breaking. And such a
waste of C4 if all those bandages where as "unstable" as claimed. Of course if they'd have watched "Cody's Lab" they'd have known they could shoot it
up with a .22 ;-)
I tell no one what I do in the basement. I tell no one about this forum. But then if I did no one would understand. If I even try to explain why I
like growing crystals, or why I find synthesizing these salts so fascinating most folks are silent.
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sodium_stearate
Hazard to Others
Posts: 255
Registered: 22-4-2011
Location: guard duty at the checkpoint
Member Is Offline
Mood: No mask.
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My own personal opinion about the general public
is that most of them are brainwashed into believing
whatever the media tells them.
Most of them lack the ability to think for themselves.
Since this forum involves topics which all tend to
involve critical thinking, I'd guess that most members
of the general public would not understand the bulk
of what is discussed here.
Most importantly, they do not even understand the
reasons why there needs to be discussions of this nature.
"Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and it
looks like work" T.A. Edison
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JJay
International Hazard
Posts: 3440
Registered: 15-10-2015
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This forum is fairly well respected. It's cited in several places on Wikipedia, and it's often linked to in YouTube videos and on chemistry websites.
It is also often spoken of on other forums.
I am actually not aware of any peer-reviewed literature that cites this forum, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's been cited in major
journals.
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Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4581
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Online
Mood: PhD candidate!
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I would be. Citing us would be as
heavily frowned upon if not more so than citing Wikipedia.
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JJay
International Hazard
Posts: 3440
Registered: 15-10-2015
Member Is Offline
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Why's that?
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fusso
International Hazard
Posts: 1922
Registered: 23-6-2017
Location: 4 ∥ universes ahead of you
Member Is Offline
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Because they hate "unprofessional (their definition)" chemists who can reproduce the same
experiments as them?
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Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4581
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Online
Mood: PhD candidate!
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No, because this is an internet forum where anonymous people exchange hearsay and make largely unquantified observations. And frankly, most of the
experiments conducted by members here do not come within a stone's throw of having the integrity and reproducibility that a major journal would
expect.
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JJay
International Hazard
Posts: 3440
Registered: 15-10-2015
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*shrug* A lot of papers that are cited in major journals have the same shortcomings. The major problem with citing Wikipedia is that articles are
subject to be edited at any time. Also, it's an encyclopedia.
There is definitely some cutting-edge research with integrity and reproducibility on this forum.... I would say that some of the most recent research
topics covered here did not have what I would consider careful attention to characterization of products... but I do believe that is forthcoming.
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
Member Is Offline
Mood: Electrical
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Professionals in general dislike non-professionals because they aren't professional.
Some can overcome prejudice, others can't.
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BromicAcid
International Hazard
Posts: 3246
Registered: 13-7-2003
Location: Wisconsin
Member Is Offline
Mood: Rock n' Roll
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I've met lots of people in my field over the years that I've mentioned this forum to. The usual response is, "Yeah, I was looking for ..... and the
only reference I could find online was someone on that site talking about it." The assortment of posts on this site gives it wide exposure to anyone
doing R&D work in this field because as a whole we've talked about and done just a little bit of everything. Amusingly, at one point I saw a
screen capture of two posts from this website in a powerpoint presentation where they were talking about a potential new route to a compound.
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symboom
International Hazard
Posts: 1143
Registered: 11-11-2010
Location: Wrongplanet
Member Is Offline
Mood: Doing science while it is still legal since 2010
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I'm going to be sad when the day a professional patents the open work done on here. Then try to pass it off as theirs or has this already happened?
Frequently asked questions about amateur chenistry
What is the point of it
They see it as a way to make money
We see it as something to learn or discover new and to challenge yourself
[Edited on 14-10-2018 by symboom]
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phlogiston
International Hazard
Posts: 1379
Registered: 26-4-2008
Location: Neon Thorium Erbium Lanthanum Neodymium Sulphur
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Mood: pyrophoric
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We actually do get cited in professional journals, albeit rarely, and often only just as an example of improvised or clandestine chemistry.
But not always. For instance, take this paper: 'Optimization of Allihn Condensers for Solvent Extraction of Neem Oil for Industrial Application
Gandu S., Gonah C. M., Garkida A. D.'
Its second reference is one of our threads ('Bon V' as the author), but unfortunately the URL is messed up.
Our library seems to also get linked to quite a bit, especially the papers on radiochemistry.
You can get an idea by searching for "science madness" (including the quotation marks) with scholar.google.com
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"If a rocket goes up, who cares where it comes down, that's not my concern said Wernher von Braun" - Tom Lehrer |
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Melgar
Anti-Spam Agent
Posts: 2004
Registered: 23-2-2010
Location: Connecticut
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Mood: Estrified
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I think it occupies a respectable place between, say, StackExchenge Chemistry and The Hive. StackExchange to make sure the theory checks out, and The
Hive to make sure it's practical. Salvation can only be achieved through faith and works!
The first step in the process of learning something is admitting that you don't know it already.
I'm givin' the spam shields max power at full warp, but they just dinna have the power! We're gonna have to evacuate to new forum software!
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