Chapter 1 - Conley 1. Some people accuse sociologists of observing conditions that are obvious. How does looking at sociology as “making the familiar strange” help counter this claim? How does sociology differ from simple commonsense reasoning? Sample answer: Sociologists may appear to study conditions that are obvious, but by making the familiar strange, they are able to move beyond commonsense reasoning and use evidence to really understand a topic. For example, students will say that they plan