Lawrence M. Principe

And even in a chemistry lab, modern chemistry lab, you would mistake what they were doing unless you did it the way they did it.

And so when you recreate it, and there are great scientists like Lawrence Principe who are doing this kind of work, when we actually understand them on their own terms, the way they were doing it, it makes total sense why an alchemist believed that they could turn lead into silver and perhaps lead into gold.

So when we say, oh, they believe they could turn lead into gold, how ridiculous.

You can't engage in chemical transmutation.

There is some phenomenal work that goes on to do it.

There's a guy called Lawrence Principe in America.

He will actually do the experiments and go through them.

Do not try alchemical experiments at home.

Mm.

I think you interviewed Lawrence Principe for your alchemy episode.

We, we looked at his book for our, our episode.

Um, so these different thought traditions sound, uh, really different, right? Like, alchemy sounds different from magic and astrology and things of that sort.