Kyle Harper

And so the example I use in the book is the very famous Diary of Samuel Pepys, who's this incredible figure and is like very close to Newton and that social group.

And his name is on the first edition of the Principia, right?

I mean, these people are like

This close to each other.

But, like, you know, the stuff that I evoke, I won't – you know, this is a family podcast.

But, like, you know, the stuff that peeps does bodily functions is, like, mind-blowing to us.

It's vile and disgusting.

But at the same time, like –

Right down the way, you've got people who are making the most fundamental discoveries about the nature of the universe and inventing machines that will improve productivity and ultimately economic output.

So that's what's precisely so weird and interesting about that particular period is you have this kind of mingling of the old and the new.

Yeah, I mean, it's a deep question.

And what I think we don't think enough about is, like, how—

Like how – in a really fundamental way, how hard are some problems to solve?

Like some problems are just like very, very hard to solve.

And even though the incentive is really there, you think that took a really, really long time to figure out.

Even though if you'd only known, like it would have made your life so much better.

And like –

And it also – like there's tons of trial and error, right?

So the example that comes to my mind is the invention of vaccination.

Yeah.