Man I see why nobody writes decent "intro to alchemy" books the amount of information I need to synthesize to even start writing about this shit is insane. And it's DENSE too.
Alchemical history is a series of experimentally reproducible but ultimately very incorrect theories of matter. Understanding them requires assuming positions that you 100% take for granted as being common sense, foundational knowledge about the universe.
Imagine for a moment that you are a byzantine alchemist. One of the major arguments you participate in is "is synthesizing substances even theoretically possible."
Think about that. We live in a world where synthetic materials are often considered garbage. Try to imagine living in a time when the idea of creating a new substance was quite literally unimaginable for many people. Try to imagine not knowing if that was even possible.
Try to imagine not knowing if synthesis was possible, and what if there was a chance that attempting synthesis would not only fail, but personally anger God.
