Two Misinterpreted Insights in the History of Heredity. Why did it take humans so long to discover what we now consider obvious, that things "run in families?" We knew there was similarity between parents and children, but somehow couldn't stretch that to families as a whole. It seemed interesting enough, but when I ran across the sentence
In 1644, the English philosopher, astrologer and pirate Sir Kenelm Digby published an exploration of the nature of matter, including problems associated with generation. (Italics mine)
I was all in. OK, now you're talking! Philosopher, astrologer, and pirate. No one has had that on their resume for perhaps 300 years now, and it couldn't have been common in any era. Even two out of those three in a single individual would be rare after 1600.
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I wonder if there wasn't a folk-understanding that some families had "bad blood" and were best avoided as partners. Not that kids always pay any mind, and there might be other reasons to take the risks...
Likely
You’ll find plenty of pirates through 1700; the 1600s were the age of greats like Sir Henry Morgan. The English Civil War and its echoes also turned many adventurers into outlaws on Britains wide frontier. Astrology is not surprising in a navigator, given its close connection to astronomy.
How many were also philosophers I could not tell you, however.
I love that century, a man could be all things, and a pirate.
“Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.”
Well, Isaac Newton was an alchemist and philosopher, but alas not a pirate. Though he was master of the mint in England and went undercover to catch counterfeiters.
As Wikipedia recounts:
"As Warden, and afterwards as Master, of the Royal Mint, Newton estimated that 20 per cent of the coins taken in during the Great Recoinage of 1696 were counterfeit. Counterfeiting was high treason, punishable by the felon being hanged, drawn and quartered. Despite this, convicting even the most flagrant criminals could be extremely difficult, but Newton proved equal to the task.
"Disguised as a habitué of bars and taverns, he gathered much of that evidence himself. For all the barriers placed to prosecution, and separating the branches of government, English law still had ancient and formidable customs of authority. Newton had himself made a justice of the peace in all the home counties. A draft letter regarding the matter is included in Newton's personal first edition of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which he must have been amending at the time. Then he conducted more than 100 cross-examinations of witnesses, informers, and suspects between June 1698 and Christmas 1699. He successfully prosecuted 28 coiners, including the serial counterfeiter William Chaloner, who was hanged."
I had not known this. It might be worth posting it over at Grim's.
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