[Swizec]

> I have to question how "surprising" the significance of dirt composition is

It's surprising to people who have never thought about it before. So about 99.9% of the population.

And if you disagree with that characterization of the average person ... how strongly do you feel about the difference between a 7-speed automatic and an 8-speed automatic car? Or the importance of wood grain orientation in your picnic table? Or the exact type of steel used in your cutlery? How about the difference between a cavendish and a manzano banana?

These details affect "literally everything" about those items. Yet most of us never think about it because we already have enough other things to nerd out about.