And yet, without all the efforts that went into alchemy (including Newton) we might have been delayed getting chemistry among other fields. (I've been reading

And yet, without all the efforts that went into alchemy (including Newton) we might have been delayed getting chemistry among other fields. (I've been reading Gleick's bio on Newton, and it makes a point about the impact that the 'fruitless' alchemy had on modern science.. the real mistake of the alchemists was being secretive about methods and results)