jjw wrote:
"Sir Isaac Newton was an interested person in Alchemy.

The knowlwedge of that fact alone would convince me that there has to be merit to the persuit."

And if he had been interested in invisible purple rhinoceri would you consider that to merit pursuit too? The fact that someone is a genius in one endeavour doesn't make them competent in another.

The history of astronony, most obviously, contains individuals who demonstrated genius in the field while being totally out to lunch in others.

DA Morgan