I agree. This whole idea that Newton’s work in alchemy somehow diminishes him as a scientist is utter baloney. Scientific experimentation involves trial and error, and even great scientists have many “failed” experiments. The mere fact that he was trying so hard in alchemy is a credit to his dedication as a scientist.
I understand that all that work in alchemy wasn’t without benefit, even though it never produced the desired result. For one thing, it showed that it couldn’t work. For another, I don’t have any doubt that they learned a LOT from all those experiments about other aspects of chemistry.
Isn’t that why you run experiments anyways? To learn things and find out if they work or not?