Robert Boyle's predictions from 1660: GPS, Transplants, Psychotropic drugs

weslinder · Jun 3, 2010

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...h-century-chemist-foresaw-hi-tech-future.html

They may appear to be marvels of modern science.
But the ideas that led to the wonders of satellite navigation, organ transplant and cosmetic surgery are not quite as recent as some might think.
For 350 years ago a scientific trailblazer put pen to paper to compile a wishlist of what he hoped science would one day achieve.
And it's amazing quite how accurate Robert Boyle - a natural philosopher and founder of modern chemistry - was.
His wish list covers real scientific developments that span the entirety of the next four centuries from the arrival of the coffee house, to the dawn of air travel right through to the production of Kevlar body armour and developments in commercial agriculture.
Boyle was one of the founders of the Royal Society back in 1660 and his list, never before exhibited in public, forms part of an exhibition marking the society's 350th anniversary.
It is thought the list was penned by an assistant with Boyle, a leading intellectual figure of the age, dictating his hopes for the future.
The result is a list of 24 aspirations, which would have been widely discussed with his scientific contemporaries but would doubtless have seemed outlandish dreams to the 17th century man on the street.
Boyle's first 'wish' was the 'Prolongation of Life'.
Since the average life expectancy at the start of the 17th century was just 40, Boyle's first wish was certainly achieved. And it remains a hot topic for scientists today.
Next he pondered on the 'Recovery of Youth, or at least some of the Marks of it, as new Teeth, new Hair colour'd as in youth'.
Did he realise that four centuries later the wonders of modern dentistry would be granting new teeth to order and that a more youthful hue for greying locks was just a bottle away?
Other wishes cover key developments in engineering and chemistry, as well as medicine.
Some such as 'the transmutation of species in minerals, animals and vegetables' remain at science's cutting edge today.
Last night Professor Jonathan Ashmore, Fellow of the Royal Society, said: 'Boyle's predictions on the future of science are quite remarkable.
'His hopes for the cure of diseases by transplantation and drugs to appease pain and aid sleep have both become inherent features of contemporary medicine and yet these were predictions he was making over 350 years ago
'We have seen numerous of his other predictions realised in various ways, including flight, modern healthcare prolonging life, Kevlar body armour, underwater explorations and GPS navigation.'
Prof Ashmore said it would be fascinating if a new list was drawn up today of wishes for the future.
Many of the wishes in the Boyle's list are reflected in items on display in the 350 Years of Science exhibition.
Beginning in the 1660s when science was a new and uncertain pursuit, the exhibition shows how great names from history such as Christopher Wren, Issac Newton, Charles Darwin and Humphrey Davy shaped the future.
Wood from Newton's apple tree will be on display, along with a copy of Origin of the Species given to the Royal Society by Darwin.
Robert Boyle's extensive writings on gases, chemistry and religion made him famous throughout Europe. His work led to the formation of Boyle's Law which states that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume at a constant temperature.
The 350 Years of Science exhibition, which will also display wood from Newton's apple tree, opens on Monday at the Royal Society headquarters in central London.

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The Captain · Jun 3, 2010

JuanValdez · Jun 3, 2010

Sounds like he got some low-hanging fruit. And, judging from the 'works in progress,' the dude already discovered LSD.

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