The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-11-08

Editor Advertiser: Most people are
interested in Psyehieal research.
In the August number of Harper 5
Magazine. is an article on this subject
by Sir Oliver Lodge. In order to call
attention to this article I venture a
brief summary of it here.
But before presenting this summary,
it may be well to suggest one line of
thought that Mr. Lodge does not todch
upon. II may be presented in these
two questions: Are we developing away
from better understanding of psyehi-
cal matters! Or. are we developing to-
wards this better understanding! In
other words, was the cave man more
sensitive 10 psychieal influences than
we aref Or. viii the coming man be
more sensitive 10 such influences than
the cave man was. and still more sensi-
tive than we are?
The mass Of what we might call phys
zeal superstitions, which we have in
herited. do not count either way be-
eause these are explainable through
science. But there is also a mass of
what we might call psyehieal supersti-
tions which would seem TO indicate that
the primitive man was more sensitive
than we are. for such superstitiOns were
made of materials our senses do not
recognize.
Which is it!
With these questions in mind here
is the summary, mostly quoted, partly
paraphrased:
s.The first fact established by the
soeiety's labor was the reality of tele-
patty. that is TO say, of the apparently
direct action of one mind on another
by means unknown TO science. That
a thought or image or impression or
emotion in the mind of one person can
arouse a similar impression in the mind
of another person sufficiently sympathe-
tie and sufficiently at leisure to attend
and record the impression, is now prov
ed. But the mechanism by which it is
done. or even if there is anything that
can be likened to physical mechanism
at all. is stin unknown. The appear
anee is as if it was direct action of
mind ON mind, or of brain on brain
irrespective of the usual nerves and
muscles and organs of sense. +"
"'This fact alone served to explain
in a tentative manner, number OF
puzzling phenomena, notably-it redue-
ell the difficulty about clothes, etc, of
so-ealled ghosts 10 absurdity; since
of course, mental impression would
represent person under something like
customary surroundings, just as hap
pens in an ordinary dream.
Even if photography were success
fully applied to visible phantasms il
would not prove Substantially; since
of course. it is perfectly easy to pho
tograph the virtual image formed by a
looking glass.
The phenomenon (most eOmmon)
is automatic writing, =. the hand acting
in obedience to some unconscious portion
of the operator mind. There is evi-
IDENTIFY great deal to be learned about
this phenomenon; but it is useless To
deny its occurrence. The simplest as
sumption is that the writer's uneon-
scious intelligence is at work, that
telepathy of some kind is occurring
from some living person. and is In
fueneing the sensitive mind or brain
of the unconscious operator, after the
fashion of sympathetic dream"
"COnsider now what occurs during
the ordinary process of speaking or
writing. An idea is conceived in the
mind, but in order to active some
effect in the material world, it must
move matter. -. How can it get itself
translated in terms of motion? :. Phys
iology informs rs that (only) muscle
can move matter"
I'm living body means are provid-
ed for stimulating its muscles, an ar
rangement of nerves, which in turn
stimulate directly or Indirectly, by the
gray matter of the brain. i. But what
is it that stimulates this gray matter