Categories: Pseudo-explanations
An example of anthropomorphism in popular science writing.
"When you put the batter in the cake tine prior to baking, you can tap the tin on the counter top and all the gas bubbles work their way to the top of the batter and pop out."
Natalie Starkey
Starkey, N. (2018). Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system. Bloomsbury Sigma.
The language here suggests the bubbles are actively doing something, rather than being subject to external natural forces.
Read examples of anthropomorphism in science
Many examples of anthropomorphism are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.
