The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-02-13
TWO MINDS
IN ONE.

was brand new TO me.
| was invited by the principal of a
well-known commercial school to see
young man from the Remington
Typewriter Office give demonstra-
ton on the Visible Model 10 Rem
ington.
:" A demonstration on the type
writer? What is new in that |
wondered. " | can see scores ofsuch
demonstrations every day in any busi-
ness office.
Nevertheless, | had a feeling that
il must be something out of the ordl-
nary, so | went.
watched the young man for some
minutes copying from manuscript. OF
course, he was very fast operator
and very accurate operator, and ali
that. He fairly made his Remington
hum. But what of il ?" thought.
The woods are full of fast and as
curate operators"
Presently the school principal tool;
me up and introduced me to, the
young man. He acknowledged my
salutation but continued his writing.
| asked him few questions about
himself and his work. He answered
them, still writing.
Then it dawned upon me that, here
indeed was something out of The ordi-
nary.
All the while that this young man
was talking to me, he never ceased To.
copy from his manuscript. He, was
doing what psychologists have grave
ly told us is impossible. He was per
forming tIvo separate mental oper,
hons at one and the same time.
But this was not all. 1t was on
the beginning.
Do you speak German?" aske
our host.
i confessed my ignorance of ths
language. But a German happend
to be present, and he took up III
conversation. The operator answered
HMM German; while he still COZ
tinued to write-in English.
Then a man was found in ne
audience who spoke French, and tie
same test was repeated in that la,-
guage, for the operator was not ON,
proficient typist but also an Accom-
plished linguist.
There was no stumping that oper
ator in his remarkable feat of two
Simultaneous mental operations. He
could converse huently in French OF
German while at the same time cop,
ing from English manuscript, and he
showed us later that he could Just as
easily reverse the process. 1t was all
new to me and to everyone present.
as new as it was extraordinary.
But of what practical use is it?"
thought on my way home.
Then my mind began to stray back
over the earlier days of the writing
machine. remembered another mar
vel of 20 years ago, when Frank Nc
Gurrin, the pioneer touch" oper-
ator, the first typist who ever operated
the machine without looking at tho
keys, was giving his exhibitions on the
Remington Typewriter in all the
cities of North America.
remembered how they called Nc
Gurrin a freak, a sort OF magician,
who did what no other operator could
ever do. Today the whole business
world knows that all the best oper-
ators are touch operators.
The wonder of yesterday is always
the commonplace of to-day.
II is not the two in one
stunts that this young man does tina,
matter in themselves. 1t is the fact
that he is able to do them, for this
fact proves what perfect mechanical
proficiency an operator may attain
with practice.
The lesson this latest marvel teaches
is that the typist becomes proficient
by becoming mechanical buman
automaton. And only when typing
becomes as mechanical and uncon.
scious as walking, is the typist truly
master of his craft.
Twenty years ago the Remington =
Typewriter Company brought out
Frank McGurrin as an example 10 the
operators of his day. Now they have
brought out this new marvel as an
example to the operators of the pres
emf. Thus the Remington Type
writer fulfills its role as the perpetual
pioneer, not only in the development
OF the machine itself, but in Wery
development OF its skilled operation.