Transition metal · element 21
Scandium
Rare, light, and tougher than it looks.
Only 0.1% of people are Scandium. (estimated)
If you're Scandium
You are the upgrade people don't notice until it's gone. A small amount of you makes everyone around you stronger and lighter, and you never make a thing of it.
A pinch of scandium in aluminium makes the alloy strong enough for fighter jets and bicycle frames.
How to get along with Scandium
Do
- Give them a hard job in a small team.
- Notice the improvement they make; it's real and it's quiet.
- Ask them before you ask the famous person.
Don't
- Don't compare them to their flashier cousins.
- Don't waste them on trivial things; they're rare.
When it goes wrong: When they feel unnoticed they don't sulk, they leave for a better alloy.
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
- 5
- Stability
- 9
- Energy
- 7
- Rarity
- 5
- Warmth
- 5
Scandium in literature
- Dickon Sowerby — The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)
- Gerda — Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen (1837)
- Wiglaf — Beowulf, Anonymous (1000)
Characters from public-domain works, chosen for the same traits. Company, not a verdict.
Closest personalities
The elements whose profiles sit nearest to Scandium's. If you got Scandium, one of these was probably your runner-up.
Other transition metals
TiTitaniumVVanadiumCrChromiumMnManganeseFeIronCoCobaltNiNickelCuCopperZnZincYYttriumZrZirconiumNbNiobiumMoMolybdenumTcTechnetiumRuRutheniumRhRhodiumPdPalladiumAgSilverCdCadmiumHfHafniumTaTantalumWTungstenReRheniumOsOsmiumIrIridiumPtPlatinumAuGoldHgMercuryRfRutherfordiumDbDubniumSgSeaborgiumBhBohriumHsHassiumMtMeitneriumDsDarmstadtiumRgRoentgeniumCnCopernicium