Quicksilver Reading CompanionNewtowne, Massachusetts, October 1713: Enoch Root arrives at the Massachusetts Bay Colony Institute of Technologickal Arts to deliver a letter to its founder, Daniel Waterhouse, who is busy organizing a lifetime of scientific and political correspondence.
“Sir John Floyer just invented the practice” — An English physician, Sir John Floyer introduced the practice of pulse-counting in 1707. He commissioned a “pulse watch” to accurately measure the rate of the heartbeat for the first time in medical history.
“unsound as the faculty of Harvard College would have him believe” — Founded in 1636, Harvard College was the first institution of higher learning in the British North American colonies. In the early 18th century, it was still primarily focused on training Puritan ministers and maintaining religious orthodoxy.
“The Skepticism of Pyrrhon of Elis” — Pyrrhon of Elis was a Greek philosopher credited as the founder of Pyrrhonism. This school of skepticism suggests that because human perception is flawed, one should suspend judgment on all non-evident matters to achieve peace of mind.
“The Election & Reign of Rudolf of Hapsburg” — Elected in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany was the first king of the Habsburg dynasty. His reign began the family’s ascent to becoming one of the most powerful and long-lasting royal houses in European history.
“it is the product of five primes” — From the original wiki (Gary Thompson): “This page is about Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem
Not the first wink in the direction of the Golden Braid.
Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:36:According to what scheme? (Alan Sinder) Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:165:Zeno’s Paradox (Matt Zwolinski)
Daniel’s scheme is suspicously similar to the technique used by Kurt Gödel in his Incompleteness Theorem. And given Daniel Waterhouse’s links to computational machinery and later discussions with Leibniz, this is not a coincidence.”
“no linear indexing system” — From the original wiki (Edward Vielmetti): “Waterhouse’s system for organizing his notecards appears to prefigure Ranganathan’s faceted classification or “colon classification” system. Both allow for composite classifications to be built up out of a product of simpler categories, and allow for an infinite number of possible results (as long as there’s space on the card or spine of the book).”
“the Investiture Controversy” — This was a massive 11th-century power struggle between the Investiture Controversy and the Holy Roman Empire. It centered on whether the Pope or the Monarch had the right to appoint (invest) local church officials like abbots and bishops.
“too complicated for monads” — In the philosophy of Leibniz, Monads are the fundamental, indivisible “spiritual atoms” that compose the entire universe. Stephenson’s annotation: ‘Daniel’s scheme is suspiciously similar to the technique used by Kurt Gödel in his Incompleteness Theorem.’
“The Electress Sophie?” — Sophia of the Palatinate was the Electress of Hanover and a significant patron of Leibniz. Under the Act of Settlement 1701, she was declared the heiress presumptive to the British throne to ensure a Protestant succession.
“What does Princess Caroline want of me?” — Princess Caroline of Ansbach was a highly intellectual royal and a close friend of Leibniz. She eventually became Queen of Great Britain as the wife of George II and acted as a mediator in several famous scientific disputes.
“what Gresham’s College was to Oxford” — Founded in London in 1597, Gresham College provided free public lectures in the vernacular rather than Latin. It served as the original meeting place for the “New Science” and the early Royal Society.
“Someone who could help me build the Logic Mill.” — This refers to Leibniz’s Calculating Machine, specifically the “Stepped Reckoner.” Leibniz also theorized a calculus ratiocinator, a universal logical language that could be used by a machine to solve any argument through calculation.
“Went to Sturbridge Fair with Isaac to buy them” — The Stourbridge Fair near Cambridge was one of the largest in Europe. It is historically significant as the place where Isaac Newton purchased the glass prisms he used to prove that white light is composed of a spectrum of colors.
“deaths of all seventeen of Queen Anne’s children” — The Hanoverian Succession was triggered because Queen Anne had no surviving heirs despite seventeen pregnancies. This tragedy forced Parliament to look to their German cousins in Hanover to find a Protestant successor.
“George Louis will become Newton’s King” — George I of Great Britain was the Elector of Hanover who took the British throne in 1714. His arrival brought Leibniz’s patrons into power in England, complicating Newton’s social and political standing.
“as Sir Isaac is still at the Mint” — In 1696, Newton left his academic post at Cambridge to become Warden of the Royal Mint. He took the job seriously, personally hunting down counterfeiters and overseeing the “Great Recoinage” of English currency.
“magistrate of the Old Bailey.” — The Old Bailey is London’s central criminal court. During this era, it was notorious for its rapid trials and its location next to the squalid Newgate Prison.
“Should have gone straight to Her Majesty’s Navy.” — Under the Broad Arrow Policy, the British Crown claimed all white pine trees of a certain size in the American colonies for use as ship masts. These trees were marked with a three-pronged “broad arrow” to signify royal ownership.
“beyond the reach of Tories and Archbishops” — In the late 17th century, Tories were the political faction that supported the divine right of kings and the authority of the Anglican Church. They were the natural enemies of the “Dissenters” and Puritans who fled to New England.
“plucks a couple of loggerheads from their hooks” — A Loggerhead was a long-handled iron tool with a bulbous end. It was heated red-hot in a tavern fire and plunged into a mug of “flip” (beer, rum, and sugar) to make it foam and give it a burnt, caramelized flavor.
“instead of a Baroque minuet, it is a weird keening sort of melody—an Irish tune” — This reflects the cultural divide of the era. Baroque Music represented the mathematical order and formality of the European courts, while Irish folk music was often perceived by the English elite as “wild” or primitive.
“preparations for the Apocalypse. He reckoned it would occur in the year 1666” — Apocalypticism was widespread in the 17th century. Many Christians believed the world would end in 1666 because the year contained the “666” Number of the Beast from the Book of Revelation.
“execution of Hugh Peters—Cromwell’s chaplain” — Hugh Peters was a radical Puritan preacher who helped found Harvard but returned to England to support the revolution. He was executed for regicide after the monarchy was restored in 1660.
“Wilkins had written his great Cryptonomicon” — While the title is a nod to Stephenson’s other novels, it refers to Wilkins’s real 1641 work, Mercury, or the Secret and Swift Messenger. It was the first English-language book on cryptography and the “universal character.”
“Portuguese crypto-Kabbalists, Arabic savants… Parsees” — This refers to the Seventeenth-Century Esotericism that permeated early science. Marginalized merchant groups often used secret religious or mystical networks to move information and goods across borders.
“sucked down into Tophet” — Tophet is a biblical location in Jerusalem where some Israelites reportedly sacrificed children by fire. In Puritan rhetoric, it became a common synonym for the fires of Hell.
“campus of domed pavilions” — From the original wiki (Alan Sinder): ” campus of domed pavillions and ans multi-chambered laboratories says Enoch Root to a concerned (in a skeptical way) Daniel Waterhouse.
Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:3:…dollop of hills… (Neal Stephenson) Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:16:Massachusetts Bay Colony Institute of Technologickal Arts (Neal Stephenson) Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:16:Massachusetts Bay Colony Institute of Technologickal Arts (Patrick Tufts)
The Bonner map is the first surviving printed map of Boston and the first town plan printed in what is now the United States.”
“Wilkins was reading some proofs of Boyle’s The Skeptical Chemist” — Published in 1661, The Sceptical Chymist is considered the foundation of modern chemistry. In it, Robert Boyle rejected the ancient Greek idea of four elements (earth, air, fire, water) in favor of a corpuscular theory of matter.
“enrolled at that old vicar-mill: Trinity College, Cambridge” — Trinity College, Cambridge was the intellectual home of Isaac Newton. At the time, universities were primarily intended to train clergy for the Church of England, hence Daniel’s “vicar-mill” jibe.
“no more a guess than when Halley predicted the return of the comet” — Edmond Halley used Newton’s new laws of motion to predict that the comet of 1682 would return in 1758. Its reappearance as predicted was the first great proof that gravity governed the entire solar system.
“working on the second edition of the Principia with that young fellow… Roger Cotes” — Roger Cotes was a brilliant mathematician who assisted Newton in revising his masterwork. He is famous for the quote attributed to Newton upon Cotes’s early death: “If he had lived we might have known something.”
“Sir Isaac has not done any creative work since he had that mysterious catastrophe in ’93” — Newton’s Breakdown of 1693 was a period of severe insomnia and paranoia. Some historians attribute it to mercury poisoning from his alchemy experiments, while others cite the exhaustion of finishing the Principia.
“He called himself an Independent.” — Independents were a radical wing of the Puritan movement. They believed that each local church congregation should be entirely autonomous, rejecting the authority of both bishops and national church councils.
“drawn up an Act of Uniformity” — The Act of Uniformity 1662 required all clergy to use the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. This led to the “Great Ejection,” where thousands of Puritan ministers were forced out of their pulpits and homes.
“Sir Roger L’Estrange, the Surveyor of the Press” — Roger L’Estrange was the chief censor for the restored monarchy. He was a fierce opponent of religious tolerance and spent years hunting down the authors of “seditious” underground pamphlets.
“This was the Duke of Monmouth.” — The Duke of Monmouth was the illegitimate, Protestant son of Charles II. He was a charismatic figure who eventually led a failed rebellion against his Catholic uncle, James II, in 1685.
“Monmouth and Upnor and Jeffreys” — Judge Jeffreys became infamous as the “Hanging Judge.” Following the Monmouth Rebellion, he presided over the “Bloody Assizes,” sentencing hundreds of rebels to death or transportation to the colonies.
“fellow-commoners calling for beer” — A Fellow-commoner was a wealthy student at Cambridge who paid double fees. In exchange, they were allowed to eat at the high table with the faculty (the Fellows) rather than with the ordinary students.
Original annotations by: sinder, thompson, vielmetti, bornstein