Nullus In Verba

I found this extremely interesting. A document from Sir Robert Boyle from the late 17th century which illuminates one of the most extraordinary minds of his age and asks for and predicts much of what we take for granted in the 21st century:

Boyle is best known for his Boyle's Law on the behaviour of gases. With the famed ''natural philosophers'' of the time, including Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, he aimed to uncover the secrets of the world through experimentation.

They first founded the ''Invisible College'' at Oxford University, referred to by Boyle as ''our philosophical college'', and then the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge in 1660.

The society, which had the motto Nullus In Verba, meaning ''take nobody's word for it'', often produced lists dreamt up over long discussions in the coffee shops of 17th-century London.

Boyle's handwritten ''wish list'' was found in his personal papers, donated to the Royal Society on his death in 1691.

Keith Moore, the Royal Society's librarian, said these ideas were prophetic in the 17th century. ''This was an age that still believed in magic, which had just come out of the bloodiest civil war imaginable and was divided by religion [yet] this wish list is still relevant today.''

Robert Boyle's prophetic 'wish list'

''The Prolongation of Life'' - health improvements mean we are now living longer.

''The Recovery of Youth, or at least some of the Marks of it, as new Teeth, new Hair colour'd as in youth'' - Botox, plastic surgery, teeth-capping, hair dye, transplants.

''The Art of Flying'' - planes.

''The Art of Continuing long under water, and exercising functions freely'' - submarines and scuba gear.

''The Cure of Diseases at a distance or at least by Transplantation'' - transplants and keyhole surgery.

''The Emulating of Fish without Engines by Custome and Education'' - free diving.

''Strength and Agility … exemplify'd by that of Frantick Epileptick and Hystericall persons'' - steroids.

''The Acceleration of the Production of things out of Seed'' - GM crops.

''The making of Parabolicall and Hyperbolicall Glasses'' - spectacles and telescopes.

''Making Armor light and extremely hard'' - Kevlar.

''The practicable and certain way of finding Longitudes'' - satellite navigation.

''A ship to saile with All Winds'' - boats with engines.

''Perpetuall Light'' - bulbs.

''Varnishes perfumable by Rubbing'' - scratch-and-sniff.

''Transmutation of Species in Mineralls, Animals, and Vegetables'' - synthetic biology, genetic engineering