I remember calling my brother in law when I was first putting air in my bike's tires and saying to him - should it really feel like if I put more air in these things may explode? And he said yes. So I just kept putting air in until the gauge read correctly. And nothing exploded.

You are not alone - I laugh now, but initially I kept thinking you need a dang PhD to put air in your tires. Then I realized I have one, so I just soldiered on.