Alkaline earth metal · element 12
Magnesium
Burns so bright you shouldn't look directly at it.
Only 0.9% of people are Magnesium. (estimated)
If you're Magnesium
Steady most of the time, spectacular when lit. You keep things running quietly in the background, and when you finally go off, everyone stops what they're doing.
Burning magnesium is so bright it was used for camera flashes, and water only makes the fire worse.
How to get along with Magnesium
Do
- Give them a moment to shine and then stand back.
- Trust the steady stretches; they're building up to something.
- Notice the quiet work they do between the flashes.
Don't
- Don't throw water on them mid-blaze; it makes it worse.
- Don't confuse calm with lack of fire.
When it goes wrong: When they finally go up, it's bright enough to hurt. Don't look directly at it; wait for the light to settle.
Atomic profile
Every element is placed on six personality dimensions derived from its chemistry. Your answers are placed on the same six, and the closest element wins. How the scoring works
- Reactivity
- 6
- Sociability
- 6
- Stability
- 8
- Energy
- 9
- Rarity
- 1
- Warmth
- 7
Magnesium in literature
- Jane Eyre — Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë (1847)
- Cyrano de Bergerac — Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand (1897)
- Sydney Carton — A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (1859)
Characters from public-domain works, chosen for the same traits. Company, not a verdict.
Closest personalities
The elements whose profiles sit nearest to Magnesium's. If you got Magnesium, one of these was probably your runner-up.