Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-08-09
USING YOUR EYES.
Do You Think You Can Remember
Everything You See7

Do You Think You Can Remember
| Everything You sse7
!. Seeing is believing" is an old say
Ing which Is In a fair way to lose in
force. Modern psychology is proving
by experiments that people do not see
even fraction Of the things they con-
fdently believe they see.
The picture test was first demon
strated In America at Clark university
by the pioneer in this field, Professor
William Stern Of the University of
Besslau. At this time two unusually
intelligent children, a boy and q girl
in the upper grammar grades Of the
Worcester schools, were shown sep
arately for the period Of a minute a
colored picture entitled the Bauer
stube." giving the interior Of German
peasants home. Among other details
is seen table at which man and a
boy are seated, while Woman is
| standing.
The man has removed his coat, and
his bright red vest Is clearly exposed
to view. The boy is sitting on a bench.
his bare feet not quite touching the
floor. The woman wears a brilliant
red skirt, over which is a blue-green
apron. She has yellow shawl over
her shoulders.
Nearby Is cradle of the same
striking blue green as the apron. At
the rear Of the room is q bed, and over
1t hang three pictures. These pictures
depict landscapes, and in one Is.
long avenue Of trees. At the foot Of
the bed Is a window through which
nothing is visible except a branch Of
tree. Near the window Is a clock with
the pendulum swung to one side. The
hands point to exactly half past twelve.
All Of the details Of the picture are ex-
tremely clear.
The children examined by Stern had
an opportunity in the minute allowed
for the examination Of the picture to
study It In some detail. They knew
that they were to be tested Immediate
ly on what they had seen. Had not
the audience that witnessed the demon
stration been able to follow the details
Of the testimony by means Of repro
duction Of the picture thrown by q
lantern on a screen at the back Of the
children they would have been Inn
pressed with the remarkable clearness
and apparent accuracy Of the testi-
rnony. particularly with reference to
certain cupboard which both testified
stood near the bed.
This cupboard was described nil
nuteiy with substantial agreement as
to the details. The fiction Of the cup
board was developed by few sugges-
tive questions ingeniously put, such as
the following: Us there cupboard In
the rooms" The reply was Yes"
Where Is it?" How many drawers
does II haveT
Professor Colvin of the university of
Illinois, writing In the Independent
says that he has carried on the same
experiment with a score Of subjects,
both adults and children, and has not
found one who could give q completely
accurate description OF what he had
seen, even In the direct testimony.
while under the influence of the ques-
tions the witnesses have all shown ex-
tensive Justification In one or more
particulars.
as to the time of the clock; some have
not observed that It was going "a fact
clearly indicated by the position Of the
pendulum; several have described the
shoes Of the boy in detail; he is bare
footed; four have seen the cupboard;
several have said that the lawn is Wis
ible through the window and have en-
bellished 1t with fountain and shrubs;
some have seen a road winding beyond
the lawn and lined with an avenue Of
trees, taken bodily from one Of the
pictures on the wall; nom existent
tablecloth has been described as torn:
the woman's apron has been given all
the colors Of the rainbow, but seldom
the right one: the sleeves Of the mans
coat, nowhere visible, have been de-
scribed as worn at the edges: the brill
liant red waistcoat has generally been .
overlooked. But, most remarkable of
all, the entire twenty witnesses have
taken their oaths that the cradle Is
not blue. but red or a reddish brown.
The results Of this picture test are
all the more remarkable when we re-
member that the witnesses in this ex-
pertinent are in a much more advan-
tageous position for giving an accu-
rate report than are the witnesses of
ordinary events. In trials in court the
witness Is ordinarily called UPON to re-
late what has occurred only after q
considerable lapse Of time. Meanwhile
he Is subjected to various questions,
often by interested persons. He talks
about the occurrence with neighbors
and friends, and then he is placed on
the witness stand with the Injunction
to tell "the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth" Under such
circumstances the wonder Is that there
is any resemblance between the testi-
mony and the actual facts.
New York, August 8: This season
southern bankers, as we'll as northern
institutions, report much less liberal
advance to farmers of cotton than usu-
al. There Is no doubt that the current
seasons crop has been put out with a
smaller capital obligation than that Of
1911. The main reason for this is that
when the 1911 crOn WAS planted the
price of cotton was bringing from 10
to 16 cents. On that assumed prospect,
lavish outlay was made, with the result
that the south produced more than g.
00O,00 bales above its best previous
crop. This year when cotton was plant