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It is possible that you put together a to-do list, even though they hardly resemble the one that the scientist Robert Boyle had written over 350 years ago, considered one of the founders of chemistry modern.
There were 24 items in his list – and its contents make it particularly different from ours.
It is directed by the following top 3:
- The prolongation of life
- The recovery of youth, or at least of its traces, in the form of new teeth and new hair, with the color that she had in youth
- ] The Art of Flying
This type of writing was inspired in part by the philosopher of nature and father of Empiricism Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who was greatly admired by the members of this society.
Lists of things to do were "indicators of what humanity could achieve … to widen the horizon of possibilities, "according to historian Vera Keller in her book The New the world of science: the temporality of the agenda In other words, it was lists of desires or desiderata, from the Latin desidero : to wish, request.
The desiderato of Bacon was printed at the end of his book The Advancement of Knowledge in the form of a list of chapter titles not yet written .
The idea was that they be filled gradually, in time and by more than one person, as the science progressed.
The whole of the book would call The New World of Science .
Although the scientists have not yet completed it, the wish list included, among other things, research guided by the titles of unwritten chapters, the idea that scientific advancement is an endless journey and the widespread practice of
Boyle's List
Let's go back to Boyle's list, found among his papers after his death.
Several of his wishes relate to health and well-being:
– Prolongation of Life
Life Expectancy in Europe from 17th century was very low, 30 to 40 years on average.
Although it is taken into account that the statistics of the time were influenced by the high infant mortality, it is undeniable that these figures have improved since: according to the WHO (World Organization of health), the average life expectancy of the world population in 2016 was 72 years.
– The recovery of youth, or at least of its traces, in the form of teeth and new hair, with the color that it had in youth
Prevent or reverse aging remains an impossible dream.
However, since ancient times, man has developed strategies to disguise the signs of old age.
When Boyle writes his list, plastic surgery takes its first steps.
About the teeth, from the 1720s, a group of professionals with surgical knowledge called themselves dentists and practiced what we now call modern dentistry.
We do not know exactly what Boyle meant by this, but transplants We started to make human organs in the middle of the twentieth century.
With X-rays, MRIs and ultrasounds, we can see the body inside "remotely."
In addition, doctors are now able to diagnose many diseases through video chatting on the Internet.
However …
– The healing of wounds at a distance which also appeared on Boyle 's list, remains unrealistic.had a long wish list: – D of powerful rogas to alter or exalt the l'; imagination, memory and d & # 39; other functions and reduce pain, offer innocent and harmless dreams, etc. – Freedom to suppress the need to sleep, as occurs with tea or with the fools by the Egyptian electuary and the mushroom mentioned by the French author – Conquest of great bodily strength and agility, as in some cases, frenetic, epileptic and hysterical
the above elements would probably be an expression of what would eventually be possible with the arrival of anesthetics, anabolic, stimulants and hallucinogens.
It is not surprising that many of the points on the list of 17th century scientists relate to the sea, given the preponderance that navigation had in so many aspects of life at this time. time. of discovery and conquest.
Boyle wanted:
– A boat that sails with all the winds and a boat that does not sink which would only become part of the reality because there is, ship that is not likely to sink.
The practical and accurate way to measure distances that eventually materialized in another of his desires.
The solution of the "greatest problem of his time":
Today we have quartz watches and GPS that can determine your position on Earth with a millimetric precision.
Water
When it comes to water, Boyle's ambitions are not limited to the surface. He wanted us to be able to dominate …
– The Art to stay underwater for a long time and to exercise there freely
Already in the time of Aristotle, it was possible to see the construction of a submarine and, in 1661, the King of England and thousands of subjects were astonished to see how the invention of the Dutch Cornelius Drebbel – who was employed at the English court at the time – had been immersed in the waters of the Thames and remained there for three hours. 19659002] But it will still be a few centuries before the huge and powerful nuclear and submarine submarines and the ultra-sophisticated submarines for remote control and scientific and commercial use are produced.
Once under the water, Boyle wants …
– The imitation of the fish without motor, only with suit and education
L & # Advanced technology has enabled teams of divers to explore the sea since the late nineteenth century.
More recently, the man was able to stay up to two days under water, which was unthinkable in the Boyle era.
list that seemed even more sophisticated three centuries and a half ago:
– The Art of Flight
Wilbur and Orville Wright invented, built and successfully flown a plane for the first time in history in 1903.
Or maybe the flight that counts is that of Santos Dumont, the Brazilian who for some , is the true father of aviation.
Be that as it may, this task that ranks 3rd on Boyle's list has become a reality. Today, air travel is as routine as in the past, in a horse-drawn carriage.
– The Conquest of gigantic dimensions It is difficult to know exactly what Boyle imagined by writing:
If we could talk to him about space expeditions …
[19659002] If he was talking about the human being, we are on average 10 centimeters taller than 150 years ago thanks to better nutrition.
If he thought about what humans could build, it is possible that the Burj Khalifa Building or the Mall of America Mall fit his definition of "giant."
Today, we have artificial insemination, hydroponics, greenhouses, controversial genetically modified organisms, etc.
– Transmutation of Mineral, Animal and Plant Species which was Conquered by Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering
The first high quality non-spherical lenses were manufactured even though Boyle was alive and technology continued to grow.
The astronomical telescopes that astronomers explore in the universe also make this wish a reality among those who have come true.
– The making of soft glbad
Sophisticated methods of manufacturing glbad and clear plastics, developed in the 19th century and perfected in the 20th century, may have left this content unfulfilled.
[L'armure à l'épreuve des balles était connue à l'époque de Boyle, mais les gilets en kevlar étaient apparus à l'époque.] The 1970s began using a material 3M invented the Scratch and Sniff (or scratches and smells) in 1965.
Missing …
– Varnishes that smell of perfume when they are applied
] In addition to healing wounds at a distance, other dreams have still not been realized:
Although the electric lamp was invented in the 19th century and the longest lamp worked for at least 116 years, no We know today that neither of us the sun guarantees us the light forever.
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