The Missing Piece

Untangling the mystery of lost information and reading in between the lines.

Old books. Photo by Tibor Fazakas from FreeImages

After reading numerous old manuscripts and books on the history of medicine and perfumery, one little detail failed to escape my attention. Did the ancient authors, physicians, pharmacists, and perfumers (often one and the same person) successfully mislead readers and get away with it?

Have we stopped questioning information and analysing data? Maybe the only reason for noting things down was to offer enough facts without running the risk of losing control over one’s intellectual property.

Is it also possible that what we are presented with is, in fact, correct? Maybe our ways of doing and understanding things have transformed so much that we can no longer decipher the subtle differences and contradictions in old texts?

Perhaps these books were never meant to be read by the general public. And because of that, it was perfectly fine to omit the obvious and only disclose the key essential points. And what was considered obvious then is now lost forever.

Is it important?

I believe studying the past can offer fascinating insights into why things are the way they are. A better understanding of different tastes and preferences in scents, for example, can…