This essay seeks to clarify existing confusion in terminology regarding the history of polymers, plastics, and macromolecules, and explores various factors that complicate the early history of macromolecules. It also suggests reasons why materials such as polyaniline, an early fully synthetic polymer that found widespread commercial application in dyes, have not previously been treated in accounts of polymer history.

中文翻译：

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重温合成聚合物的早期历史：批评和新见解

本文旨在澄清有关聚合物、塑料和大分子历史的术语中存在的混淆，并探讨使大分子早期历史复杂化的各种因素。它还说明了为什么诸如聚苯胺（一种在染料中发现广泛商业应用的早期全合成聚合物）之类的材料之前没有在聚合物历史方面进行处理的原因。