Metamorphic Rocks for Dummies

Rock Cycle image from NASA

Antisocial Network staffers prefer that our award be given to our DotD nominees in their real names, but every once in a while an anonymous contributor makes such an impression on a team member that he or she can persuasively argue that the award be presented anyway. We came across today's awardee while checking old links. During the "niche-ing" process at Sciencing.com, Leaf Group deleted an old eHow.com article about slate and replaced it with an anonymous contribution entitled "How to Identify Metamorphic Rocks." This is one case where "The cure is worse than the disease"...

If you weren't aware of how the "fact-checking" step in eHow's publication process worked, you'd never believe this dreck got published. Since, however, the main purpose of the site's "content editors" was to ensure that the format was correct and everything conformed to AP style, accuracy was a low priority. That's obvious from the first paragraph of this post:

"Rocks that undergo changes are metamorphic rocks. Igneous and sedimentary rocks eroded by wind, weather and water become metamorphic rocks." Well no, anonymous, that's not what they become: they become sedimentary rocks -- and so do metamorphic rocks "eroded by wind, weather and water." You'd think something that egregious wouldn't get past anyone with even a passing familiarity with the rock cycle, but apparently fourth-graders don't edit eHow posts. It just keeps getting better... here are some of the more interesting "facts" this anonymous writer included in his or her post:

• "Sedimentary rocks are formed from sediments and igneous rocks are formed by fire."
• "When these rocks change again, they become metamorphic."
• "...some metamorphic rocks are layered and others are made up of grains."
• "For example, rocks changed by the ocean or in the ocean will have salt in them. They are also identified by the amount of water and other minerals found in them."
• "One indication of metamorphism is the proximity to an erupted volcano. "
• "Notice rocks near an area in the earth that has changed from moving plates. The pressure of the movement can change rocks causing them to become metamorphic."
• "Slate is grey and purple. "
• "Metamorphic rocks are difficult to classify because different amounts of heat or pressure to the same rock can look different."

Our staff geologist had to gulp a Valium and take the rest of the day off after reading this crap, and we don't include corrections unless we have someone who actually knows a metamorphic rock from a metaphor. So we aren't going to try to correct the misinformation and downright bullshit contained in that post. We just hope to God that whoever at Leaf Group is monitoring our blog gets rid of this crap ASAP, however -- and doesn't replace it with yet another Dumbass of the Day candidate!

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