The Washington herald., 1908-02-09
How Famous Number Got
IFS Real Reputation.
IN DOMAIN OF PSYCHOLOGY
DIR. SwObOda, of Vienna, Called At
tention 80 Importance of Twenty
of Received InpressioHs-Manife
Itself in Constitutional Diseases,


important part in the operation of our
memory. In book published a few
years ago by DR.. Swoboda on The Peri
odicity OF the Human Organism" in
which the famous Vienna psychologist
gives an account OF some wonderful laws
discovered by him in the domain 90
psychology, attention is for the first time
called to the Importance of this number
in the mental reproduction Of received
impressions For many years SWobOda
had made the observation that airs heard
by him a. a concert or the opera. which
he could not recall Immediately after
their execution. would. few days later.
while walking at work. or in eonversa-
ton. suddenly turn up in his memory,
and that these spontaneous recollections
as rule occurred on the second day fol-
lowing the musical impression.
Continued observations resulted IN es-
tablishing the fact that the recollections
not always came exactly after two days
or forty-eight hours, but two hours ear
lier. hence after forty-six hours, that
if, for instance, he recalled a song after
four days, the recollection would occur
by four hours earlier than on the day of
the perception If after six days, by six
hours; If after ten days, by ten hours
earlier. &c Finally he made the i'm
pOFtant discovery that the shortest time
for the reeollections 10 arise IN his mem-
ory was twenty-three hours, The inter-
val of twenty-three hours was soon con-
firmed by other Observers and this not
only with regard TO musical recolections,
but to all kinds Of reproductions, such as
pictures, moods. aches, sc,
FOrmuIates the Hour.
Once this twenty-three hour period was
established as the smallest interval of
recoIIections, Swoboda could formulate
the law by which this phenomenon was
governed in the following propositions:
Remembrance return periodically and
mechanically after a number of hours.
which in all cases is a multiple of twenty
three, such as two times twenty-three
four times twenty-three, six times twen-
ty-three. SC Now, If as shown above
voluntary recollections arise every sue
Ceeding day by one hour earlier, il fol-
lows that after tWenty-fOur times twenty
three hours-that is, after twenty-three
days-they must occur at exactly the
same hour at which the respective per-
ception had been made. AS a matter of
fact, SwObCdaA succeeded in proving the
existence Of the period of twenty three
days duration. In the last discovery the
researches of the psychologist coincide
with the interesting observations made by
a medical man.
Dr. Fliess proved in his patients the
periodicity Of twenty-three days, mani
Testing in various diseases. Thus COnst- I
tutiOnal diseases. such as epilepsy. piles, !
gOut &c, make themselves particularly
conspicuous on the critical days cOrre-
spending TO said period. Also in infec-
tious diseases these days are important
playing as il We're into the hands of
the baclli, ApOplectic seizures the sur
est messengers of death, likewise occur
on these critical days. But not only path
ological processes Of every description are
governed by this period: the phases of
normal human development, such as
teething, children's learning TO talk. &C. /
are also dependent upon periodical terms. /
Even in the animal kingdom the twen-
ty-three days period seems to rule su-
preme Thus, Fliess found that the dates
In which famous race horses run badly /
were apart from each other by a multi /
pie of twenty-three days, and Swoboda' s /
researches yielded the further surprising
result that, counted from mans birth, /
every twenty third day Of his life is a
critical 0ne-that IS to say, that on such /
days he is liable to be subject to ali kinds /
Of minor arrangements. such as colds, /
nose bleedings, CutaneOus eTUptiOns, &C. /
as we'll as TO psychic depressions. rapid I
mental fatigue, &C: in short to all those 4
phenomena which taken together cOnsti- /
tute the idea of illness. At the eXpiTa- /
tiOn of the tWenty-three days periods /
therefore. the organism both body and /
soul, possesses less power of resistance
Under the Spell.
At that time we should not perform F.
any severe operation. should not under /
take anything particularly difficult, as
for instance, passing an examination,
making an important speech; nor should |
We expose ourselves to any danger In
Cidentslly besides the twenty-three days
period. DR.. Fleiss also discovered one Of
tWenty-eight days which, manifesting it
self as it does pre-eminently in the fe-
male sex, he calls the feminine period
while the interval of tWenty-three days,
which is characteristics Of the stronger
sex, he designates as the masculine
period. But owing to the principle of bi-
seXuality, it often happens that the twen-
ty-eight days period is also met with in
men, and vice versa, and the twenty-three
days period in women
The discovery of this peTiodicitv throws
new light upon the mysterious domain
Of dream life. Although IL is not posgfbIe
TO explain all dreams by one principIe
still Swoboda's discoveries do not leave
any doubt as To the fact that the contents
or our dreams are in great measure
formed out of the remembrances falling
due in accordance with the law of narjo-
deity. If we further consider that during
sleep our intellect does not assert its con-
trolling power We can easily explain the
frequently very bizarre combination Of
mental pictures created in our dreams. |,
Out Of the abundance of instructive illus
trations given by Swoboda, the following
picked out at random, may also serve to
explain the would-be prophetic dreams:
A Vienna physician one night dreamed !
that he was called to Il sick child. In his
dream he sees distinctly the house Of the i
ohilds family, the sick room and the
like On the following day he is actual
ly called to the child. The prophetic
nature OF this dream finds its explanation
In the following facts: On January 3 the
physician had paid a visit 70 the family: l.
in the night from March q 10 % he tad ,
the dream therefore after plus 2S days.
In this case We have a feminine interval
in a male individual. From his last visit
started for both the physician and the
child mother one and the same period |
After plus p days came to both the {
recollection of this visit, only each party {
Interpreted it differently In the physi- :
clan II caused to arise the presentiment
or anticipation that he would be called. .
and to the mother Il suggested the idea .
or strengthened her in her resolution to
send for him. It must be added that the
child was not ailing at all, that the :
physician was only sent for to examine !.