Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-11-21
SELF DECEIT.
Our Senses Are Not At All Times
Reliable.

Reliable.
Nine persons out of ten place. or
think they place. the most implicit
faith in the testimony of their senses,
AS a matter of fact, however. few of
us accept this testimony in the more
important affairs Of life.
We do not believe that the sun
moves around the earth, although we
see it; and the flatness of the earth
that is evident to our uninstructed
physical sight Is refuted by the un-
derstanding. We do not believe our
senses. but our reason. in these prem
ises, though we do rely upon them
in many matters where we should
know better. We have for guidance
such truisms as Don't trust In ap-
pearances," and Believe nothing
that you hear and only half Of what
you see," but still we are often de-
ceived. Illusions and delusions afflict
us from the cradle to the grave.
We think that we see and hear a
great deal that we do not see or hear
at ALL On the witness stand and un-
der oath we testify to things that
we imagine to have taken place, only
to have our testimony contradicted
by that of other witnesses. equally
reliable and conscientious, who de-
scribe minutely things and occurrences
as being evident to them at the same
time and place as those we have de-
scribed, yet materially different in
every important detail. 1t is con-
tended by many able men, and with
much reason, that the much derided
"circumstantial evidence" is. after
all, more reliable than that of So
called eye witnesses"
Prof. Hugo Munsterburg in the
course of a lecture to a Harvard class,
staged a mimic hold-up in the lecture
room, having his actors suddenly
rush in, engage in a pretended fight
and suddenly depart. There were
some fifty members of the class, and
each was requested to write an ac-
curate description of the occurrence.
The result was about fifty different
versions. One man had seen an as
sault committed with a knife. another
with a pistol, another with a club
and so on. None Of the descriptions
of the persons engaged tailed with
the facts. Yet each man was willing
to swear to what he had seen.
This is all natural when it is con-
sidered that no two persons have the
same sense of color. form or sound.
And whose senses are reliable? No
ones, Try your own, for example.
Close one .: and With the index fin
ger of your right .:9nd point at some
small object, say 4 spot on the wall a
few feet distant. Keep the finger
pointing, open tile eye that was closed
and close the one that was open, and
see where you will be pointing. Then,
still pointing, open both eyes. OBJ
serve the result.
Do you pride yourself on your pow
ers of observation? Tell us, offhand.
which way the profile Of Liberty"
faces on a dollar, half dollar or other
coin. What is the prevailing color
of Lake Michigan on a clear day and
how many colors can you count from
waters edge to horizon? What is
the color of your best friends eyes?
How many spokes in an ordinary
wagon wheel?
Looking down a long, straight
stretch of railway the tracks con-
verge at a certain distance-according
TO the testimony of our eyes. The
lines of a building slant sharply away
from US, in appearance, though we
know that the height of the distant
portion is the same as that Of the
near. That Is perspective" we say,
and recognize the laws thereof In
drawing a representation OF the
building. Did we attempt to draw
the building in its exact proportions
II would be ludicrous. We draw what
we seem to see. not what we know,
and our reason gives the correct i'm
preston.
Take small. round object-a bull
let or small marble-and lay 1t I'm
the palm of the left hand. Then.
crossing the index and middle fingers
of the right hand, place them over
the shot so that both are in contact
with it, and. closing the eyes, roll the
object about in your palm. You dis
tinctly feel two objects. though you
know there is but one there. So much
for actual testimony.
Who has not been deceived by
echoes or by the arts OF the Ventrllo-
quist? Yet we presume to believe
our ears though we cannot locate
the place of sound. Many poisons
hasve an agreeable taste or odor. By
the palate and sense Of smell we could
not discriminate between oil of al
monds and prussic acid.-Chicago