Dunning-kruger Memes

This meme brilliantly fuses chemistry with the IQ bell curve template! It shows the Dunning-Kruger effect of acid-base knowledge where people at both extremes of the curve think free protons (H+) or aqueous protons (H+(aq)) exist in solution, while the educated middle knows it's actually hydronium ions (H₃O+). Chemistry nerds know that a "naked" proton is too reactive to exist freely in water - it immediately bonds with water molecules to form hydronium. The 34% at the peak represents chemistry students who've just learned this fact and are insufferably smug about it. Meanwhile, both beginners and advanced researchers use simplified notations as convenient shorthand. It's the perfect representation of how sometimes the most pedantic people aren't the smartest ones in the room - they're just the ones who've learned just enough to be dangerous!

The bell curve of chemistry wisdom strikes again! On the left, we've got the happy-go-lucky beginner who thinks "chemistry is just like cooking" - mix stuff together and boom! In the middle? The panicking overachiever having an existential crisis because "Nooooo chemistry is actually an elaborate process" with tears streaming down their face. Then on the right, we circle back to the zen master who's transcended the complexity and realized "Chemistry is like cooking" after all. It's the perfect scientific journey - start simple, get overwhelmed by details, then finally understand the elegant simplicity beneath the chaos. Just like how I thought I understood baking until I learned about the Maillard reaction, then eventually realized it's still just... making food hot!