Why Did Newton Spend 30 Years on Alchemy?

The man who explained gravity spent decades trying to turn lead into gold, and his reason sounds less crazy the longer you look at it. The Bones of the Story, part 1 of 4 · from chapter 22 of The Existential Smartass Next: Part 2, What Were Humans Doing for 295,000 Years?    • What Were Humans Doing for 295,000 Years?  · All four parts:    • Why Did Newton Spend 30 Years on Alchemy?   The Newton we learn about in school is a fraction of the man. He studied biblical prophecy, measured the Temple of Solomon and filled notebooks with alchemy, convinced that humanity once knew things it later lost. The Greeks knew the Earth was round, and Eratosthenes measured it with a shadow. Plato thought the world we see stands on patterns we don't. So how much did the ancients actually know? Chapters 0:00 The Newton they left out of school 2:15 The alchemist who discovered gravity 4:47 God, nature and the great scientists 6:31 Prisca sapientia: what if we're rediscovering? 8:20 Those damn Greeks 10:47 Plato's strange idea Sources Newton's alchemical papers: The Chymistry of Isaac Newton (Indiana University); his theological papers: The Newton Project John Maynard Keynes, "Newton, the Man" (1946) Eratosthenes' measurement of the Earth, as reported by Cleomedes Aristarchus of Samos, via Archimedes, "The Sand Reckoner" Plato, Republic, books VI-VII The Existential Smartass is a book in progress, eleven years and counting. #philosophy #history #newton