Tags: chemical reactions, silicates
Categories: Pseudo-explanations
An example of anthropomorphism in popular science writing:
"As it happens, there's plenty of silicon in the Earth's crust – but it shows no interest whatsoever in forming complex molecules. It combines with oxygen to form silica – the primary constituent of most rocks – and seems happy enough to stop there."
Andrew May
Andrew May (2019) Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe
[Silicon is not the kind of thing that show interest or be happy, so this is figurative language, and so describes metaphorically rather than explaining anything.]
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