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I tend to agree with Paul Graham[0] on this one, and less on the "last of the magicians" moniker. The idea is Newton tried to uncover truth through multiple met

I tend to agree with Paul Graham[0] on this one, and less on the "last of the magicians" moniker. The idea is Newton tried to uncover truth through multiple methods and avenues, and we remember him for the ones the bore fruit, and not for the ones that didn't seem to pan out. After all, in Newton's time, how would you know alchemy didn't work until you tried it rigorously? Or, more generally, how would you have even known for sure that empiricism and mathematics would be so successful? [0] http://www.paulgraham.com/disc.html http://www.paulgraham.com/disc.html

elfexec 7y ago
Newton could be called the first of the new magicians. The idea that some invisible unknown force is acting upon entities far away is rather a magical idea if you think about it. The idea that the position of the moon influences events on earth sounds just like astrology as it does physics. The only difference is that the claim by physics can be replicated while the one by astrology cannot. But both are equally mystical. > After all, in Newton's time, how would you know alchemy didn't work until you tried it rigorously? Which is how chemistry started. Modern chemistry was born out of european alchemists primarily trying to reproduce porcelain from china - a major source of trade imbalance between china and europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Friedrich_B%C3%B6ttger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Friedrich_B%C3%B6ttger Of course like the chinese, he kept his recipe a secret in order to enrich himself and other european alchemists continue their search for the recipe. Insatiable greed along with insatiable curiosity is how we ultimately got chemistry.
bluedevil2k 7y ago
You raise a good point because as we’ve found in the 1930’s and I believe finally performed in the 50’s, alchemy can occur. (Seaborg with a particle accelerator). The method of discovery is performed by trial and error and building off the mistakes and successes of your predecessors and Newtown was just the first step in many of his discoveries.
- ecoled_ame 7y ago
  Okay, alchemy doesn’t refer only to transmutation. It was a legitimate practice by early chemists who were playing around with materials. The mysticism is greatly exaggerated. And the scientific method goes back tens or hundreds of thousands of years .. for example early hominids fishing for tuna in Morocco. My point is that rudimentary scientific experiments are still science and should be appreciated. There was no transition from magic to science in the 17th century.

elfexec 7y ago

Newton could be called the first of the new magicians. The idea that some invisible unknown force is acting upon entities far away is rather a magical idea if you think about it. The idea that the position of the moon influences events on earth sounds just like astrology as it does physics. The only difference is that the claim by physics can be replicated while the one by astrology cannot. But both are equally mystical. > After all, in Newton's time, how would you know alchemy didn't work until you tried it rigorously? Which is how chemistry started. Modern chemistry was born out of european alchemists primarily trying to reproduce porcelain from china - a major source of trade imbalance between china and europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Friedrich_B%C3%B6ttger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Friedrich_B%C3%B6ttger Of course like the chinese, he kept his recipe a secret in order to enrich himself and other european alchemists continue their search for the recipe. Insatiable greed along with insatiable curiosity is how we ultimately got chemistry.

bluedevil2k 7y ago

You raise a good point because as we’ve found in the 1930’s and I believe finally performed in the 50’s, alchemy can occur. (Seaborg with a particle accelerator). The method of discovery is performed by trial and error and building off the mistakes and successes of your predecessors and Newtown was just the first step in many of his discoveries.

ecoled_ame 7y ago
Okay, alchemy doesn’t refer only to transmutation. It was a legitimate practice by early chemists who were playing around with materials. The mysticism is greatly exaggerated. And the scientific method goes back tens or hundreds of thousands of years .. for example early hominids fishing for tuna in Morocco. My point is that rudimentary scientific experiments are still science and should be appreciated. There was no transition from magic to science in the 17th century.