Long ago our ancestors thought of things like fire, as an element. Water, Earth. It was also like magic to us. It's not as though we have it all understood either. There are still many equations that have to be worked out.
I think at least here in America, we take for granted our public education system. Many of us learn so much so quickly that we don't necessarily know how to communicate it all in a few sentences, generally. The ability to read and write is something only nobility pretty much had access to. It was never that we couldn't learn it. Anyone born human is pretty much like every other human. That's how it works. The rest is just personality and consequence. Not all of us are lucky enough to be raised by kind parents.
But more about the elements, as that's more the reason you're reading. Those are called atoms now. The Periodic Table of Elements? I mean, they are the bits and pieces that make up our reality. Stardust.