I think when he was talking about that, he was referring to the fighter/mage/thief divisions in the skills.

Like, it doesn't particularly matter if Alchemy is a stealth skill or a mage skill.

I like the idea of having to read books to learn specific ingredient effects or certain recipes but yeah a lot of the stuff I did was either in the Anarchist Cookbook, or learned by word of mouth or written instructions lol. I think the only things that I used the internet for was the mercury fulminate and chloroform. (FYI, do not make chloroform it can cause chemical burns and if you use it too much brain damage. It didn't happen to me but my buddy who volunteered to have it tested on him. He's kind of strange, he knew those risks beforehand but still "hugged the teddybear" as we called it )

Edit: Also, yeah public libraries svck for information, I just went to some chemistry stores and a Barnes and Noble.

I hope it doesn't require recipes. Sure, they may be usable like in Morrowind and Daggerfall, but surely they shouldn't be the only way to figure out potions.

... How the heck do you think gunpowerder, guncotton, nitroglycerine, mauve dye, and saccharine were invented?