The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-03-24

Of course, the most satisfactory evil dence of any natural phenomenon .s that which is obtained from observa- tions and experiments, that can be re- peated at will, because then the con- clusions can bc tested at any time. We have by no means got So far as this in regard to mind reading. On the con trary, will say at once that we have no satisfactory evidence 10 prove mind reading to its doubters.
 Apparent mind reading may be produced in two ways, by coincidence and fraud. That two people should happen to think of tho Same thing at the same instant is obviously possible and must occur from time 10 time :. consequently some of the cases are the result of chance,
 For my own part, after having studied the subject with patient care, I have been led to think that coinci- dencc is sufficient to account for much ot the supposed honest mind reading. 1 But farther into this discussion l will not enter, il being my present object i to indicate few of the ways in which frauds may sham thought transfer ence, or, as some prefer to name il, telepathy.
 There is much misconception about l the nature of chance. The strongest evidence yet offered in favor of the di- rect transfer of thought from mind to mind is afforded by the English ex- periments In which one person looked at simple drawing until the image of it was fixed upon his memory.
 The agent, as this person was styled, then approached the second person, the mind reader or the percipient; at the same time concentrating his atten- tion upon the image, while the other 1 fixed his attention upon the agent. With certain persons surprising sue cess or series of successes followed. The percipient drew a figure which was plainly a reproduction of tho fig urc at which the agent had been look ing previously.
 Now, the English gentlemen who have described these tests state that they watched the performers so closely and put them to work under such con ditions, that the two could not com- municate by any ordinary method, and hence they concluded that there must have been a direct transferencc of the mental image from one mind to another.
 They urged beside that the number of simple figures which might be drawn being enormous, the chance of the percipient drawing the right fig ure by sheer coincidence Is, therefore, infinitely small.
 The reasoning, however, is an ex- ample of the erroneous views as to chance which are so common. It Is quite true that the number ofpossible figures is very great, but people are much more likely to draw one of a comparatively few figures, such as a square, a circle, heart, cross, an arrow, flag, chair and certain others. Let any one who Is interested ask some friend, who does not know beforehand why he Is asked, to draw ten simple figures in nearly every case some of the figures enumerated will occur among the ten. The chances, therefore, against coincidence are by no means infinite, since there is small number of figures which are likely to be included in any small set of drawing.
 Now, if a couple of confedcrates wished to deceive experimcnters in mind reading, they would have very good opportunity in the drawing test, for it would be necessary only for them to arrange signal code before hand; code difficult to detect is easily devised.
 i Suppose the two Incb selected twenty five of the likely figures; the agent, by his position In the room or by assuming an agreed attitude, could indicate that the figure was actually one of the twenty-five selected, and that 1t was one of the first five or sec ond five, and so on; the number of steps taken could Ike used to indicate which figure pf the five 1t was.
 Thus the percipient is informed, and has merely to draw of what he has ascertained by trickery. The dupes would regard the proof of mind reading AS irresistible.
 Now, neither the chances for coinci- dence nor for for fraud have been duly considered in connection with the English drawing experiments, yet they offer the best evidence there is al all of mind reading. Those, therefore, who think conclusion must be proven to be accepted necessarily con- tinue skeptical as to the reality of the thought transfereDce.
 Deception Is very easy. Last win ter Mr. C. E. Cory illustrated this at one of the meetings of the American Psychical Society, when co-operated Hith him. We agreed that Nr. Cory should hand about pack of cards, and let several of the audience draw