Alchemy

Summary

Alchemy Published: November 9, 2025 Alchemists in medieval times apparently believed it was possible to transmute matter into gold—or, at least, were attempting to find out if it was possible to do so through an early, rudimentary version of what would eventually become chemistry. Typically, alchemists sought to turn lead into gold, largely because lead was common, and gold wasn’t. Gold was precious, and if you had an unlimited supply of gold (or could turn a less finite supply of something else, such as lead, into gold), then you could make yourself wealthy— —or that was the theory at least. Personally, I’ve always wondered why alchemists didn’t think that through a little more. It’s easy for me to say that, of course, with my 20th century education, which covered things like the economics of supply and demand. But it’s always seemed to me that infusing a market with an easily available supply of gold would be counterproductive, as that gold would immediately lose value in direct proportion with the infusion. The more gold you could make, the less that gold would be worth. One real-world example of this phenomenon: salt. Salt was once a prized commodity, since it was very difficult to extract and transport, and because everyone needed it. It wasn’t on the level of gold, of course, but still rare and essential enough to make it highly valuable. Today, however, salt is virtually disposable, for the simple reason that it’s incredibly common. Modern technology both made it easier to get, and less essential to have. Supply went up; demand went down; what was once prized is now almost literally everywhere. These days, people aren’t trying to create gold out of other matter, but they are pursuing a slightly different version of alchemy: creating art from AI. These days, people aren’t trying to create gold out of other matter, but they are pursuing a slightly different version of alchemy: creating art from AI. The materials are different, but the idea is the same: if the o...