Today I discovered that techbros, usually as a rejoinder to scepticism about the unlimited potential of innovation in computing or the notion, say, that humankind will terraform Mars, like to use the phrase "we taught sand to think". Now, I'm not saying they really don't understand that the only function of the silicon* in silicon chips is as an insulator, just: stupid people use stupid slogans. (Mind you, more common on the internet is the T-shirt inscription "Teaching sand to think was a mistake" which only avoids being dumb by virtue of being facetious.)
(* 02/04/2026 Silicon oxide, of course, which is sand, to be sure. The silicon in a silicon chip apparently does conduct electricity, forming part - or most, I guess - of the "thinking" structure of the chip. Chips also contain silicon oxide, and it is there as an insulator, but, embarrassingly, that's not what I meant. Still, I was half right!, or to be more accurate, only mostly wrong.)