help_im_diene

Welcome to Help me! I'm Diene! This is a community dedicated to teaching organic chemistry concepts through fiction. Organic chemistry is one of the most daunting topics for a student in the sciences; it's been cited as one of the primary reasons that students leave the sciences. I love chemistry--yes, even organic!--and believe that the sciences should be fun and approachable. Therefore, it is my goal to teach organic chemistry concepts and even mechanisms by using various literary techniques such as metaphors and personification.

The community name actually comes from a fun play on words. A diene is a molecule that consists of two alkenes which are double-bonded carbons. Diene, however, also sounds like "dying." I hope that people who feel like they're dying in organic chemistry can come to this community and learn organic chemistry in a fun entertaining matter.

Plans are made to update with a story (and explanation of the concept or mechanism expressed in the story) twice a week. There are currently two types of stories in planning: concept shorts and functional group serials.

Concept shorts are short stories that illustrate one concept through a metaphor. An example of a concept would be "stability of a carbocation." Each concept short is a story that stands on its own and bears little to no connection to other concept shorts.

Functional group serials are a series of short stories that focus on a mechanism that works with said functional group. By personifying molecules, the mechanism is no longer in a microscopic realm, but instead is brought to a macroscopic world for better visualization and understanding.

A masterlist of all stories and their corresponding concepts can be found here

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If you have any comments or questions, you can ask them here at the general comment page (comments are screened), or by PM. I will get back to you as soon as possible.