The Washington times., 1920-02-22

. ~ things we never knew before either
4 \ about our own brains or those Of
other interesting people are revealed In
the latest reports Of the wister Institute,
OF Philadelphia. The Institute Is the
American clearing house for dead brains.
To nearby local society many leaders or
more or less distinguished subleadsfs In
all lines Of human activity have left for
the benefit of science their organs Of
thought. But. besides these. the scien
lists have the benent Of the research Of
similar institutions In America and abroad.
Indeed. until the war disjointed all con-
structive activities, many brains passed
between these institutions for study--A
weird traffickins with fragile freight whose
purpose was the Improvement and eleva.
ton of the race; business whose aim
was to discover not only the causes OF In
sanity, stupidity and other factors holding
back the progress OF humanity, hut the
possible secret Of what we call genius as
we'll.
The brain of Professor Cope, the great
est naturalist the world has ever known.
has made at least seven journeys across
the ocean!
Not all these new discoveries are, how
ever the result Of research at the Wister
Institute. An immense amount OF infor.
nation has been one OF the unexpected re-
suits of the World War; harvest gar
nered by scientists abroad working among
the debris of wrecked and injured brains
left by that struggle. Still more is con-
tanned in the reports OF pre-war research
by foreign investigators and presented
with the wister Institutes own nndines.
1t is only fair to SAY that few conclusions
have as yet been evolved from the war
harvest The observations still have to be
painstakingly checked up and verfhed
tlnally-a matter that may take years.
First. it is now settled that the weight
of brain is not always an indication OF
it's power. big head may be no indica.
ton whatever OF intellectually. A small
head may be almost entirely packed with
a huge genius. II is the weight OF the
cerebrum, or fSrebrain, that counts. In
The eminent man II Is bound to weigh more
than that Of the ordinary man, although
the weight OF the formers whole brain
may be much less. Il is the overhans In
front and behind that is important.
IDOn tllS LOT0UTUlu bFe WElttcu utCfv-
enthusiastically becoming more plain to
the eve Of science---that tell as clearly rs
print the occupation and tendencies OF the
owner. These are not only the convolu'
tons, their depths and shape, but a mass
of finer lines whose pattern varies with
the particular potentialities OF the posses.
sor
The average man thinks with nine bill.
lion brain cells, yet their weight is less
than one per cent of the total brsinl
We know now Just what our brains
ought to weigh II we are normal. intelli.
gent, everyday folk. A man Of sixty-five
ages OF forty and seventy, assuming, OF
course, that his mind remains normal to
the end, would have brain Weighing 1874
ounces, or 400 pounds.
The weight oil the genius's brain, singu.
larly enough, may be either less or greater
The cerebellum or back brain takes care
Of the motor impulses; that Is, the mus.
cular movements. In Il dwells what we
choose to cali brutality, unthinkins
strength, quick and immediate muscular
reaction to an emotion. II was Just what
man emerging from savagery needed II
was splendid for the days when art and
philosophy we're useless, when life was
less complex; when, indeed, II was little
more than pursuit Of food, Of mates and
constant warfare against man and beast
AS the race improved, this animal brain
shrank back, while the fore brain. or
cerebrum, in which are the higher intel
lectual centres, pushed forward and back
ward. This IL why the thinker usually
has the full. straight forehead. while the
man who depends solely upon muscular
strength for his existence has the reced-
ing, low forehead. The thinking brain has
not been developed. At the same time
the back brain shrinks we End the marks
OF aninalism going with II. Man loses HE
huge biting muscles, HIS protruding Jaw;
the. lessened musculature rehnes the face
Then comes the question--how does The