The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-11

centration, an effort be made to hold
that object in the mind for several
minutes the memory image grows more
and more distinct until it stands forth
as wildly as a dream, and is, there
fore, known as a dream image" A
dream image of some absent friend,
for instance, can be brought up in the
mind in a few seconds or minutes if
the eyes be closed and the mind con-
centrated upon that persons appear
ance at certain time. When such
dream images occur automatically,
habitually and without relation to ac-
tual happenings. they are known as
Authorizations. To test the effects of
hot weather upon the minds power to
visualize. the professor has prepared
lists of familiar names arranged at
random, and he finds that simple men,
Dry images of 500 of these--such as
might occur to the ordinary reader
may be brought up in rapid success
sion in four and three-quarter min
utes at temperature of Is. while it
requires, on an average, as much as
six and one-quarter minutes for the
mind TO do exactly the same work
when the temperature is so. 1t fur
Their required ninety minutes to con-
jure up 100 of the more vivid dream
images Of objects at a temperature of
IS, but 146 minutes when the temper
allure was ninety All of these deduc-
tons, showing averages for many sub
jects, indicate to the professor that in
creased temperature above rs gradu-
ally decreases the brains rapidlty CO
functioning. either in regard to the
senses, Imagination or reasoning.
Other interesting experiments ihdi-
cate to what extent the muscles as
well as the. mind are made more seasi-
tive to fatigue by-very hot weather
and similarly 1t is shown how the ex-
IRENE high temperature Of very hot
day will dun the senses. To learn to
what practical brain work is affected
by high temperature. PROFESSOR Gates
who is IN charge of this interesting
work, has made accurate measure
ments of the relative lengths of time
required for the performance Of a GER
tain mental task under varying con-
ditions. He selected twenty familiar
problems in plain geometry, which were
reviewed and thoroughly understood in
every detail in Is per cent less time
when the temperature was rs degrees
than was required to review the same
number CT similar problems when the
temperature was raised TO 90 degrees.
This indicates that an extremely hot
day is unfavoTable to close mental
study. such as required for mathemat-
zeal demonstrations, and that it is
proper that our schools should be closed
during the summer months SO long as
schoolrooTas cannot be artificially
cooled.
AT what time on a summer
day do we usually feel hot
test? The theory. has been that
the body temperature rises to its
maximum between . and .. m, and
then falls to its minimum between
and in the morning. Professor Gates
made careful observations of a street
car conductor during both his day and
night periods of work 1t Yves discov-
cred that the above was true when the
conductor worked during the day and
slept at night, but that the orda. was
reversed when he worked at night ard
slept in the day This indicates.
therefore, that the rise and fall IF The
body's temperature is the result of
waking activity rather than of sunlight,
as has been the theory heretofore.