Something that I had to read for a grammar class I went to that only talked about essay structure (don't ask).

"Transmutation was, of course, an age-old dream. But to men like me, with a theoretical bent of mind, what was most exciting about the 1930s was that there began to open up evolution of nature. I must explain that phrase. I began here by talking about the day of Creation, and I will do that again. Where shall I start? Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh, a long time ago, about 1650, said that the universe was created in 4004 BC. Armed as he was with dogma and ignorance, he brooked no rebuttal. He or another cleric knew the year, the date, the day of the week, the hour, which I have fortunately forgotten. But the puzzle of the age of the world remained, and remained a paradox, well into the 1900s: because it was then clear that the earth was many, many millions of years old, we could not conceive where the energy came from in the sun and the stars to keep them going so long. By then we had Einstein’s equations, of course, which showed that the loss of matter would produce energy. But how was that matter rearranged?"

And I have no idea who wrote this. If anyone out there recognise the above please tell me. I'd really like to get the reference for this quote. Not for any moral reason, but for the sole purpose of hunting it down and reading it myself.

As a side note: Roger Bacon of the Shadow Hearts PS2 game is based on an actual person in history. Apparently, the real Roger Bacon was alive during the Middle Ages (1200s) and was famous for his scientific writing (alchemy), and was the man who first invented lenses (for spectacles and telescopes, he was also an astronomer). Unfortunately, the Church weren’t exactly happy with his ideals, and well, his life didn’t exactly end happy.

Here ends your not exactly precise history lesson. If you’re interested google it.