In 2010, The Royal Society featured the “Desiderata” (previously) of Robert “Boyle’s Law” Boyle, a list of dozens of scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that Boyle hoped would be discovered by scientists.
*
The Prolongation of Life.*
The Recovery of Youth, or at least some of the Marks of it, as new Teeth, new Hair colour’d as in youth.*
The Art of Flying.*
The Art of Continuing long under water, and exercising functions freely there.*
The Cure of Wounds at a Distance.*
The Cure of Diseases at a distance or at least by Transplantation.*
The Attaining Gigantick Dimensions.*
The Emulating of Fish without Engines by Custome and Education only.*
The Acceleration of the Production of things out of Seed.*
The Transmutation of Metalls.*
The makeing of Glass Malleable.*
The Transmutation of Species in Mineralls, Animals, and Vegetables.*
The Liquid Alkaest and Other dissolving Menstruums.*
The making of Parabolicall and Hyperbolicall Glasses.*
The making Armor light and extremely hard.*
The practicable and certain way of finding Longitudes.*
The use of Pendulums at Sea and in Journeys, and the Application of it to watches.*
Potent Druggs to alter or Exalt Imagination, Waking, Memory, and other functions, and appease pain, procure innocent sleep, harmless dreams, etc.*
A Ship to saile with All Winds, and A Ship not to be Sunk.*
Freedom from Necessity of much Sleeping exemplify’d by the Operations of Tea and what happens in Mad-Men.*
Pleasing Dreams and physicall Exercises exemplify’d by the Egyptian Electuary and by the Fungus mentioned by the French Author.*
Great Strength and Agility of Body exemplify’d by that of Frantick Epileptick and Hystericall persons.*
A perpetuall Light.*
Varnishes perfumable by Rubbing.
What scientists want: Robert Boyle’s to-do list [The Repository/Royal Society Archives]
(via Beyond the Beyond)