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?j_sum1 - 12-10-2018 at 15:16
The general public thinks I am a nerd and does not care or even know about this forum.solo - 12-10-2018 at 15:39
...not very important either way, since concerns of what others think has no value to me ....soloTexium - 12-10-2018 at 15:57
The general public thinks I am a nerd and does not care or even know about this forum.
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.Loptr - 12-10-2018 at 15:57
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...unionised - 12-10-2018 at 16:10
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.Magpie - 12-10-2018 at 17:27
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.macckone - 12-10-2018 at 19:47
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.symboom - 12-10-2018 at 22:42
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]Ubya - 13-10-2018 at 00:00
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 attentionunionised - 13-10-2018 at 02:59
Did it occur to you that some of us are professional chemists?Sulaiman - 13-10-2018 at 04:19
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.JScott - 13-10-2018 at 08:41
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. sodium_stearate - 13-10-2018 at 09:00
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.JJay - 13-10-2018 at 21:47
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.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's been cited in major journals.
I would be. Citing us would be as
heavily frowned upon if not more so than citing Wikipedia.
Why's that?
Because they hate "unprofessional (their definition)" chemists who can reproduce the same
experiments as them?Texium - 14-10-2018 at 06:49
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.JJay - 14-10-2018 at 09:39
*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.macckone - 14-10-2018 at 10:25
Professionals in general dislike non-professionals because they aren't professional.
Some can overcome prejudice, others can't. BromicAcid - 14-10-2018 at 13:06
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. symboom - 14-10-2018 at 13:27
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]phlogiston - 14-10-2018 at 13:43
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.comMelgar - 26-10-2018 at 00:02
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!Chemist007 - 26-10-2018 at 13:26
Objectively speaking, there should not be any limitation on freedom of expression, especially if the statement in question,
has merit!!!BOBardment - 6-1-2019 at 13:05
"What are you doing?"
"Chemistry."
"Is this a lab?"
"No, it's just one of my so-called odd hobbies."
"Bruh hook me up with some weed."
"That has nothing to do with chemistry... Weed is a plant, I don't do gardening."
"Umm... What about meth."
*Breaks off a piece of nitrate crystal
"Don't get too high."
"WTF, is this actual crystal meth?"
"It's a piece of stump remover."lordcookies24 - 6-1-2019 at 14:43
"What are you doing?"
"Chemistry."
"Is this a lab?"
"No, it's just one of my so-called odd hobbies."
"Bruh hook me up with some weed."
"That has nothing to do with chemistry... Weed is a plant, I don't do gardening."
"Umm... What about meth."
*Breaks off a piece of nitrate crystal
"Don't get too high."
"WTF, is this actual crystal meth?"
"It's a piece of stump remover."
is that a actual conversation you had with someone?lordcookies24 - 6-1-2019 at 17:52
