A crisis of confidence.

[baratron]

Hrm. With all the media going nuts over a possible terrorist attack featuring cyanide gas, I've been looking in my inorganic chemistry books. Simply because I have a chemistry degree, therefore people are going to expect me to know about this stuff. Or something. Apparently while Scotland Yard is refusing to comment that the alleged plot involves cyanide, the government are busy making posters to tell people what to do in the event of this sort of attack. Read into this what you will.

Well, I am now having a major crisis of confidence. Looking through my inorganic chemistry books, I am reminded that I wasn't very good at inorganic chemistry. I was absolutely terrible at organic chemistry, and not even very good at physical or analytical chemistry. That would be me not being very good at... all of the major classes of chemistry, then. And I call myself a chemist? Erk.

Anyway, this This is London article about cyanide is almost accurate - surprisingly so for a science article in a major newspaper. It even explained away my confusion about hydrogen cyanide being liquid at room temperature by explaining that the attacks on the Japanese underground mixed together two other chemicals to form HCN (exothermically - hence it would be released as a gas). And I am extremely amused by the poor Disaronno Amaretto people's failed advertising campaign.

But worry about the chance of dying horribly on the Tube? Nah. I'm far more concerned about the fact that I am apparently completely crap at my chosen subject...

Comments

[jhaelan.livejournal.com]

Simply because I have a chemistry degree, therefore people are going to expect me to know about this stuff.

Know what you mean. Before working where I am now it was: "You work with computers? Excellent. Can you come and have a look at my printer/photocopier/phone/kettle?". I can honestly say at one place I got calls on every one of those from some member or staff or other based on the fact that I could use Windows 95 and Excel. Scarey.

[kiya]

Personally, I tend to worry much more about things that I have a chance of influencing than things that I can't do anything about, so you seem entirely reasonable to me. . .

[djm4]

Apparently while Scotland Yard is refusing to comment that the alleged plot involves cyanide, the government are busy making posters to tell people what to do in the event of this sort of attack. Read into this what you will.

I know I'm a professional cynic, but I don't actually find anything odd about this. Absence of evidence is not always evidence of absence; it depends how hard one has looked. I suspect the govenment knows this full well.

A cyanide (or other gas) attack on the tube is certainly a theoretical possibility, and just because the alleged plot didn't involve one doesn't mean that no one's going to try it. That's not to say that I'm going to worry about it at all, but it doesn't seem like a daft thing for the government to be warning people about, nonetheless.

[lovingboth]

Didn't the cult that did the Japanese underground attack use Sarin? (And demonstrate that even with a very nasty nerve gas, it's quite difficult to kill lots of people in such a situation.)

A matter of relitivity

[hiddenpaw.livejournal.com]

I used to think I was great at maths. I was at one point top of my class. Then I went on to A level and felt slightly less good at it. Then I met a university graduate who left me felling utterly crap at maths. The point being At the time I was doing A level I was effectively comparing myself to the the best mathmaticians in the school who were actualy a very small group statisticaly speaking and the number of people who do Maths at uni (Or even make it to uni) are even smaller.) At the end of the day remeber that for both of us most of our friends have been to university. It's only now that I've begung to realise that this isn't what everyone dose. As far as I can work out less than half the population go to uni and even fewer graduate. In short compared to the adverage person your probably a chemisty genious. for instance when you start writing here about chemistry I just skip it these days because I learned quickly that I never understand more than the smallest amount of what you are saying yet I see many responses from people who understand it perfectly.

[barakta]

Know that feeling....

I have a friend who has just graduated with a First in chem, but does she like it? I think she hates it, so much so she's trying to avoid permanent jobs cos she doesnt' wanna work as a chemist....

when I did chemistry, the people who were 'good' were not necc good at everything. I was vaguely good at inorganic, shit at organic, and physical? That was just maths using archaic formulae and conventions....

I think at the end of the day thats what we have chem books for, so we can understand what they say when we've done some chem. The fact you understand the meaning of the words exothermic, and production of a gas which will by equillibrium doodahs go toliquid at room temp is more than many ppl can cope with...

I miss chemistry labs, they were cool. I satisfy my mourning with nuking grim things with NaOH, and using acid to kill the CaCO3 here.

Maybe I should build myself a lab and teach myself chemistry again - shame the only tome i could do it was when i was either drunk or tired at 3am.

Hugs
Natalya