Control and Quantification in Modern Chemistry

各行各业的美国人相信科学家所说的“伪科学”的比例惊人。例如，很少有报纸不刊登占星术专栏。在某些亚洲国家，重大事件的时间是由占星家决定的。就连最近的一位第一夫人也曾咨询过占星家，以便为国家大事找到最有利的时机。虽然受到许多科学家的蔑视，但“伪科学”和“真正的”科学之间的互动有着悠久的传统。约翰内斯·开普勒和第谷·布拉赫都从事占星术。罗伯特·波义耳和艾萨克·牛顿都练习炼金术。博士的研究。普林西比和纽曼正在研究在科学革命期间我们现在所说的伪科学与“真”科学的发展之间的关系。特别是，他们正在研究美国炼金术传统对现代化学兴起的影响。他们正在研究哈佛毕业生乔治·斯塔基（George Starkey）的实验室笔记，他曾对炼金术理论进行实验检验。他对控制和定量的重视成为现代化学的标志。这项研究的目的不是要破坏当代科学的标准。相反，它的目的是表明，如果正确追求，从伪科学中发展出来的科学方法如何能够导致合法的科学结果。人们可能希望当前的占星术从业者能够采用斯塔基和他的同事所追求的同样的控制和量化方法。从长远来看，这种外星人影响人类生活的信仰的真正功效是可以辨别的。

An amazing proportion of Americans from all walks of life believe in what scientists call "pseudo-science." Very few newspapers, for example, do not carry an astrology column. Timing of significant events in certain Asian countries are determined by astrologers. Even a recent first lady consulted an astrologer in order to find the most propitious timing for state events. While scorned by many scientists, there is a long tradition of interaction among the "pseudo-sciences" and the "real" sciences. Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe both practiced astrology. Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton both practiced alchemy. The research that Drs. Principe and Newman are undertaking examines the relationship between what we now call pseudo-science and the development of "true" science during the scientific revolution. In particular, they are examining the influence of alchemical traditions as practiced in America on the rise of modern chemistry. They are examining the laboratory notebooks of George Starkey, a graduate of Harvard, who undertook experimental testing of alchemical theories. His emphasis on control and quantification became a hallmark of modern chemistry. This research is not aimed to undermine the standards of contemporary science. Rather, its aim is to show how scientific method growing out of pseudosciences can lead to legitimate scientific results if properly pursued. One might wish that current practitioners of astrology would apply the same methods of control and quantification pursued by Starkey and his colleagues. In the long run, the true efficacy of such belief in extra-terrestrial influences on human lives could then be discerned.