The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-11-08
DO YOU COMPREHEND I?
What Ono Dollar, a Day or a Mile
Really Means.
Inability OF the Human Mind to Really
Comprehend the Digness Of Things
Ono Doesn't Know Much,
After Ali.


In the East Tennessee mountain.
lives man in middle life who moi
long ago went twelve miles away from
home. 1t was the first time in his
life he had ever taken so long a jour.
ney, and on his return he wondered il
the world was us big the other way us
it was that way!
To all OF us that is laughable; yet
little things constantly occur, If we
would but notice them, which ought to
take away our conccit about our great
attaiuments. 1t would not be difficult
TO show that the educated mind of
average Intelligence, with all the
training it gets from school and col
lege. has but a feeble comprehension
of the real bigness of things. We
think in figures after We pass beyond
very few units in distance. in time,
In money, in weight, and so on. For
instance, take length of time as a test.
Suppose the person thinks of dura-
ton of one hour so that he can meas
ure it off in his mind with true sense
OF the value OF each part of it, so that
lie stretches his mind over it
and c0mprchends it, in the ex-
net genealogical sense of the
word comprehend. We will agree
that the mind is big enough and
tenacious enough to comprehend one
hour, But suppose that the person is
asked to extend his comprehension to
ten hours. Let any one who is per-
fectly candid try the experiment, and
it will be strange If he does not admit
that he is less able to stretch his mind
over this longer period OF duration,
and to give to each minute OF it its full
value. compared with every other
minute. He will more likely find that
he thinks ton hours as mathematically
ten times one hour, but will not
stretch out his mind with an accurate
sense of covering ten more units than
that Of his first comprehension.
So with week compared with a
day. Itmay fairly be doubted whether
there is q general comprehension of
week as seven times longer than day.
in the sense that the mind stretches
over it and perceives the re ative
length of tho duration; but the mind
rests on the mathematical knowledge
that seven times one is seven. When
it comes to months and years. the per-
ceptions of comparative length fade
away into vagueness which is only
relieved by the fixing OF dates and by
reliance upon figures as multiples of a
comprehended unit, rather than by an
adequate comprehension OF the total.
Probably most minds can really com
prehend but an exceedingly limited |
time with any just sense of proper
ton.
Again, take an illustration from the |
American standard, the dol
lar Let any one think how it looks
in his own mind, and see if the fourth |
quarter is as big to his comprehension
as the first or II the whole in all its
parts is SO accurately comprehended |
that the tenth dime is as big as the |
first. The inability OF the mind to
cover values OF large amount is easily |
illustrated by bargains in trade. The
sum is not fixed on a margin OF even
dollars, in all except small transac-
tions, but on even fiyes or tens. As
the sum increases, the bargain turns
upon fifties hundreds or thousands.
Tho mind does not comprehend nor
estimate the limits of value as sharply |
rs in smaller transactions. The
thinks In pounds ster-
ling where the American thinks In
dollars, and uses the multiples OF fl
ties hundreds or thousands in large
transactions as does the American.
Yet the variation In the two cases is
not parallel, because the dollar is not
to tho pound as an even FIVE or ten, or
Of them. 1t shows that the
mind really does not accurately esti-
mate the differences which it nominal
ly recognizes.
The same littleness OF educated, In
mind appears in estimates OF
distance We do not half comprehend
what are matters of current informa-
tion and statement with lis. Let
person stretch his mind over dis
lance, say few inches, and cut of
piece OF string of that length. Then.
with that as a unit, but being careful
not to think OF it in inches at all, let
him attempt to cut off another piece
threc or four times the lcngth OF the
unit. Unless he is trained to watch
fulness. he will DO very likely to find
that his mind Ii not big enough to
compare accurately the greater length |