Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-08-11

sent. This was done not only correctly
to the smallest detail, but 80 rapidly that
the hypothesis of unconscious muscular
action on the part of the "willer," who
lightly touched the ladys shoulders,
seemed, to say the least, violent one.
Still more was this the case when selected
notes on the piano were four times in
succession correctly struck, and particu-
lar books fixed upon at random were
taken from full bookcase on six con-
secutive trials. Finally, the hands,
though placed near. were not allowed to
touch the person of the gucsser; the
effect of this was to render the perform
ance slower and more hesitating, but
nevertheless even now the number of the
successes exceeded that of the failures !;
while, of course, the odds against re-
NAMED on each occasion enormous. In
these experiments it was very noticeable
that much larger percentage of success
full results lin fact almost unbroken sue
cess if the tips of the fingers Of the willer
touched the guesser) occurred when n
near relative of the guesser was the
"willer." This sort of circumstance is
very common, and must naturally excite
suspicion for clearly no one in such a
case can call on science to accept as strict
evidence any private conviction of his
own, based on knowledge of the family,
that deception was out of the question.
II Psychological treatises may be
seal ched Ill vain for any account of
transmission of mental images otherwise
than by ordinary sensory channels. AT
the same time it may serve to disarm
purely a priori criticism if we point ont
that the word "thought-reading is mere
ly used as popular and provisional
description, and is in no way intended to
exclude an explanation resting on n
physical basis. 1t is quite open to sur
mise some sort of analogy to the familiar
phenomena of the transmission and re-
ception Of vibratory energy. A swinging
pendulum suspended from solid support
will throw into synchronous vibration
another pendulum attached to the same
support if the period of oscillation of the
two be the same, the medium of trans
mission here being the solid material of
the support. One tuning-fork or string
in unison with another will communicate
its impulses through the medium of the
air. Glowing particles of n gas, acting
through the medium of the luminiferous
ether, can throw into sympathetic vibra-
ton cool molecules of the same substan-
ces at distance. A permanent magnet
brought into room will throw any sur
rounding iron into condition similar to
its own ; and here the medium of COM
munication is unknown, though the fact
is undisputed. Similarly we may con-
ceive, if we please, that the vibration of
molecules of brain stuff may be COM
municated to an intervening medium and
so pass under certain circumstances from
one brain to another, with correspond
ing simultaneity of impressions, No
more than in the case of the magnetic
phenomena is any Investigator bound to
determine the medium before enquirine
into the fact of transit. On the Other
hand the possibility must not be over.
looked that further advances along the
lines of research here indicated may
necessitate modification of that general
view of the relation of mind to matter to
which modern science has long beer
gravitating.