Yes, that is the surface meaning, but it seems to me there must be a secondary one. Daniel’s tirade in the previous comment is not just saying “we will be able to draw accurate maps using a Cartesian grid” (otherwise, why say “that will be the end of Alchemy”? what does that literal meaning have to do with alchemy?). Notice that he is responding there to Root’s assertion that there is little contrast between alchemy and “the younger and more vigorous order of knowledge that is associated with your club”, i.e. modern science (the club is the Royal Society). So I take him to mean that the new scientific method, which relies on precise, mathematical thinking as opposed to the qualitative, semi-mystical thinking in alchemy (this is what “Cartesian grid vs dragons” stands for), will carry the day and eliminate alchemy. So I think that Root’s reply that “you will leave out the poles” must have a hidden interpretation that fits in this broader argument, besides the surface one you point out.
That there must be a second meaning is also supported by Daniel saying with a sigh “Very well, perhaps we’ll get back to Alchemy in the end”—you wouldn’t need alchemy to draw a map with a different projection that includes the pole!
Well, it’s been pointed out on occasion that modern physics did get back to alchemy—in the sense of transmuting elements (radioactivity). Personally, I took Root as referring to what the alchemists did achieve: apparent immortality, given his presence in Cryptonomicon. The younger order achieved a great deal, but just as map projections always have difficulties caused by mapping 3D to 2D, the younger order has difficulties with a few singular parts of the territory, if you will.
Yes, that is the surface meaning, but it seems to me there must be a secondary one. Daniel’s tirade in the previous comment is not just saying “we will be able to draw accurate maps using a Cartesian grid” (otherwise, why say “that will be the end of Alchemy”? what does that literal meaning have to do with alchemy?). Notice that he is responding there to Root’s assertion that there is little contrast between alchemy and “the younger and more vigorous order of knowledge that is associated with your club”, i.e. modern science (the club is the Royal Society). So I take him to mean that the new scientific method, which relies on precise, mathematical thinking as opposed to the qualitative, semi-mystical thinking in alchemy (this is what “Cartesian grid vs dragons” stands for), will carry the day and eliminate alchemy. So I think that Root’s reply that “you will leave out the poles” must have a hidden interpretation that fits in this broader argument, besides the surface one you point out.
That there must be a second meaning is also supported by Daniel saying with a sigh “Very well, perhaps we’ll get back to Alchemy in the end”—you wouldn’t need alchemy to draw a map with a different projection that includes the pole!
Well, it’s been pointed out on occasion that modern physics did get back to alchemy—in the sense of transmuting elements (radioactivity). Personally, I took Root as referring to what the alchemists did achieve: apparent immortality, given his presence in Cryptonomicon. The younger order achieved a great deal, but just as map projections always have difficulties caused by mapping 3D to 2D, the younger order has difficulties with a few singular parts of the territory, if you will.