The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-14
-S--e
REVERsIBlLfTY OF LIFE.


Chicago starts out in the new century
with the determination to distinguish her
self in science, II she has to bust a but-
ton" Only a few days ago a scientist OF
the Chicago school announced scheme
for transporting or transmitting, coal
from the mines to the various points Of
consumption by wireless telegraph. This
has been followed quickly by the an
nouncement of another Chicago scientist
that he has discovered the great principle
that life is reversible. 1t cannot be ques-
toned that there are many lives that
ought to be reversed, for the good of the
community and society at large. 1t is not
the moral nature that Prof. Jacques Loeb,
the experimental psychologist of the Uni
versity of Chicago, proposes to reverse,
however. but the physical nature. Indeed,
he proposes that when man has marched
TO the end Of his earthly tether he shall
turn round and march back again to the
starting point.
In other words. il is Prof. Loeb's theory
atfdeath is unnecessary, and that by a
simple reversing of the process of nature,
senility can be brought once again to baby
hood. How beautifully simple the scheme
is may be gathered from the following
extract from a statement by the profess
sor: Here is an example: Campanularia
is brought in contact with a solid body
and it is transformed into undlfferentiated
matter and later into a stolen. If the
same organ is brought into contact with
sea water it gives rise to a polyp again.
The same may be done with margels and
other hydroids. In antenularia a change
in the orentation of a branch with polyps
will bring about the transformation of this
ma terial into a stolen. 1t will be the
task to determine how far in the animal
kingdom the development processes are
found TO be reversible 1t is obvious that
in form with reversible development
death will not necessarily follow a certain
stage of development corresponding to
senility in man"
Followed to its logical conclusion, we
are led to believe, this process would in
| the course of time take the tottering cid
man "in his second childhood" back again
| into an actual childhood and land him
/
ding clothes and hannels and drawing at
nursing bottle. During the process of
reduction, rejuvenation, or whatever
| else it may be called, it can be imagined
that the subject would have some rather
queer experiences. If his life were re-
versed he would have to be a grandfather
and a father before meeting either his
Offa Farfr1 tic urffA 10
agony of having teeth pulled before dis
covering that he had the toothache. He
Would always have to pay his bills before
they were contracted. He would begin his
dinners with coffee and ice cream and
wind up with soup. In short, to set a
man travelling on the back track of his
life, from the grave towards the cradle,
would be to subject him to succession
of most puzzling and amusing situations
and experiences before the catnip tea and
soothing syrup period was reached again.
| II is to be hoped, however, that Prof.
Loeb does not propose to send the sub
| iect all the way back to the cradle. A
happy idea would be 40 so only so far as
the subject might desire then throw. the
lever over and start back again. Thus
man might run a shuttle schedule between
say twenty-one and fifty years of age,
and have more fun than you could shake
a stick at. AT the first approach of dis
ease or danger, he could reverse the start
| ing-bar of his life and back right away
from it. An unfortunate marriage or a
bad deal in stocks or grain or cotton
would then be a mighty small matter.
We shall watch the development of PROF.
Loebs patent reversible life with a good
deal of interest.