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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A really interesting study of alchemy. I'm not really sure what I expected going in, but learning that alchemy and chemistry were far more connected than is normally talked about wasn't it. Learning about the history of alchemy and the split between chemistry and alchemy largely for political or public relations reasons was fascinating. I was also interested the in the early modern view of interconnectedness in the world, which seems like a vestige of pre-Christian belief systems as they morphed into the modern world view. All in all this was a truly fascinating read.
I freely admit that I went looking for books on alchemy after watching Fullmetal Alchemist :)
This is a very interesting, well written, and informative look at the history of alchemy. I had a vague idea that alchemy was a form of magic, with some haphazard chemistry thrown in (aka potions), but this book shows that alchemy was more rational, systematic, and socially productive than I ever would have guessed. The author recreates historical laboratory techniques and tests alchemical recipes, explaining how a list of ingredients procured hundreds of years ago and cooked in old school equipment might differ from the results we'd now expect with our knowledge of modern chemistry. The author also does an excellent job explaining the religious and interconnected worldview of early modern people.
This is a very interesting, well written, and informative look at the history of alchemy. I had a vague idea that alchemy was a form of magic, with some haphazard chemistry thrown in (aka potions), but this book shows that alchemy was more rational, systematic, and socially productive than I ever would have guessed. The author recreates historical laboratory techniques and tests alchemical recipes, explaining how a list of ingredients procured hundreds of years ago and cooked in old school equipment might differ from the results we'd now expect with our knowledge of modern chemistry. The author also does an excellent job explaining the religious and interconnected worldview of early modern people.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
[a:Lawrence M. Principe|16063|Lawrence M. Principe|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] realmente entende do que está escrevendo. O livro passa pelo começo da alquimia até o seu fim, ou declínio, com o começo da ciência moderna. E o autor faz um excelente trabalho de explicar não só o que os alquimistas pensavam, como porque eles pensavam o que pensavam. Ao invés de ficar na exposição das ideias, na linha do "olha que ridículo o que achavam", suas explicações vão na linha do "claro que isso fazia sentido quando a referência que tinham desse processo na época era essa".
Além do detalhamento histórico de alguém que realmente entende do assunto, ele ainda testa algumas das receitas, interpreta, explica o que dá certo ou errado e porque. O que torna a busca pela Pedra Filosofal muito mais compreensível, bem como as ideias a seu respeito foram mudando ao longo do tempo. Um livro bem completo para quem busca a ciência por trás da alquimia.
Além do detalhamento histórico de alguém que realmente entende do assunto, ele ainda testa algumas das receitas, interpreta, explica o que dá certo ou errado e porque. O que torna a busca pela Pedra Filosofal muito mais compreensível, bem como as ideias a seu respeito foram mudando ao longo do tempo. Um livro bem completo para quem busca a ciência por trás da alquimia.
Incredibly accessible intro to the history of alchemy as we understand it today. I had been struggling to see the full picture, and Principe was able to bring it into focus for me, from the Greco-Egyptian origins, to Arabic scholarship, with the longest look at the diversity of early modern European alchemical practices.
Excelente livro, muito claro e surpreendentemente profundo considerando seu comprimento. Duas citações do último capítulo que causaram uma impressão em mim:
"[...] a keen difference between modern and early modern understandings of metaphors and analogies. The modern world considers such metaphors and analogies to be creations of the human mind. For Khunrath and many of his contemporaries, they are neither arbitrary nor products of human imagination—they exist independently as real connections in the fabric of the world itself. They lie there hidden, waiting to be uncovered."
"Contemporaneous artistic productions—paintings, literary works, and music—based themselves on a love of layered meaning and allegory, meanings not found on the surface but teased out by the viewer. Educated early moderns expected multiple levels of meaning in their art, literature, and theatre, and they delighted in seeking and finding them."
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Enlightening history of chemistry from a perspective rarely taken.