The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-17
PHoToGRAPHING THOUGHT.

PHoToGRAPHTNG THOUGHT.
A cablegram from Paris to The Trib
une announces that well known scien
tihc investigator, Commander Darget
has succeeded in photographing human
thoughts Whether this is an effort tc
| get even or "raise' the announced
success Of Chicago investigators in pho
| tographlng the soul as it leaves the
human body, it is certain that the
Frenchman has opened a very suggcs
tive line of thought. If the photograph
of thought can be made feasible and
useful. it would be an immense ser
vice to those who seek to get on by
utilizing the thoughts of others. The
thought of a great judge, for instance,
might be photographed for the use of
the bench and bar; and this would
doubtless be even more illuminating
than the written opinion of that judge
which might be drawn up later on.
Partners in business could let the il
lumined thought of each other to n
much better purpose, perhaps, and GER
tainly in more naked truth than by yer
bal interchange of views. In the talk
that might be had between individuals,
there may at times be reservations
which the photograph of the thought
would not reserve; the photograph
would present the unvarnished, un-
qualified thought which led to the more
or less reserved speech. 1t would be
an Illuminating demonstration, akin to
that which has been imagined as occur
ring after death when two souls that
have been close on earth meet and all
reserve is swept away, each seeing the
other IS naked soul in all its convolu-
tons, stripped bare of all disguiscs, and
the thought, meaning and purpose
nakedly developed without disguise.
The thought is a disconcerting one,
truly, and if the photograph process, as
claimed, can be developed and made
practical among mankind, then the old
Talleyrand gibe, that language was in
vented to conceal thought, will be done
away with; for thought will stand
forth in its naked deformity OF beauty,
as the case may be. undisguised, and
without shading reliefs.
And think what a blessing this pho
tographic process would be to the stu
dent who might be a little backward
or little puzzled in his Investigations
He could apply the Photographic lens
to one more advanced than himself, and
get the exact thought that he was blum
dering to reach, And think, further,
what an immense damper, or perhaps
aid, it would be to the young man and
TO the young woman who were thinking
of marriage, if each could get an exact
view of the thought, of
the other as regards himself or herself,
and as regards their relations with
others In their circle Of friends and
sociabilities. Think also what disap
poiutment it would be to The Tribune
if it could get a Photographic line on
what might be the thought of its ad-
versaries, and, as would surely be the
case, have so many blank films returned
to it; nothing doing, no thought to de-
velop.
Think also what it would be in a |
court Of justice, where the accused |
might stand before the Judge and jury
and have his inner thought revealed by
the Photographic process. Then, indeed
justice would be arrived at without |
fail, and the accused in each case
would be condemned by his own
thought, OF liberated by it, as the fact
might be. In truth it is impossible to
limit the imagination in searching out
he field in which this idea Of photo
graphing thought would yield results.
It is tremendous idea considered in
every walk of life; provided always
hat the Frenchman can prove bis case,
ind that his photographing can be made
| sure and actual process