Evening star., 1932-12-18
BY MARJORIE T.4N DE WATER.

BY MARJORIE V4N DE WATER.
~ O you read these words with your
eyes alone, or do your ears your
nose, your tongue and the senses
Of your skin all lend their aid?
- OF course, you cannot taste
newspaper or book except IN
figurative sense, but what you DO taste may
give a different appearance as well as naVor
to the page before you.
All of which is a rather complicated way OF
saving that there may be great deal more
co-operation between the different senses uian
has been realized in the past. This fact mas
been revealed by recent experiments conoucteo
in Berlin by an American psychologist, LIZ.
George w. Hartmann of Pennsylvania State
College.
Now it appears that there may be gooo
scientific foundation for the old custom OF
pinching oneself to make sure OF the reaiA'y
of what is seen. Perhaps. too, the stenograpner
who chews gum is really aided by 1t IN her
attempt to hear her employers dictation
The beautiful play Of colors which accom-
panies orchestral selections in many tneaNrs
may not only delight the eye, but also make
the music sound more lovely. And the or'gn1
color of the rose may intensity your pleasure
In its scent
h lot that DR.. Hartmann's experiments were
] V conducted In the theater or the garden.
On the contrary, it was in quiet laooratofy
dark room that he found that some sort Oh
connection exists between the senses
Whit Of odor from a bottle Of that MOS
quito chaser, oil of citronella, will make your
sight keener, he found. So. also. will the very
dNagreeable od0r Of xyenol, which sxneais
rather like coal tar or strong disinfectant. 80
may the sound of a whistle, the pressure OF
hammer against your hand or the pain OF
pin prick.
You may or may not be aware that your
signt is improved by these signals to your other
senses Some Of those who took part IN the
experiment we're conscious Of the improvement;
others complained that the distractions" OF
annoyances kept them from doing their best.
But the test results told the same story Of
greater keenness of vision, quite regardless OF
what the individual thought he was accom-"
plshing.
The test consisted of two little black squares
placed IN the center Of white cardboard.
These SQUARES could be manipulated from where
the experimenter sat, out of sight Of the sub
iect behind the cardboard
THEY could be placed so close together that
at the distance of about 20 feet away the
subject being tested could not even see the
crack between them. They would look like one
rectangle. Then the experimenter would move
them apart very, very gradually until they ap-
peared as two distinct squares to the subject.
The smallest crack which makes them seen
as two, not one, was considered as the measure
of the keenness of sight.
When this amount which psychologists call
the threshold was definitely established under
normal conditions, then the sounds and
smells, and 50 on were brought into the PIC
ture.
First a shrill, high-pitched whistle was blown
IN doNi< 40
at what point the squares seemed to separate.
Now q strange thing happened Where the
subject had been able to see only an apparently
undivided rectangle, the blast Of the whistle
made him see two distinct squares
1.-THE tone Jared the two squares apart 30
that better defined crevice appeared in
the center" one man reported.
Another observer said that after the whistle
ceased the split between the squares also van
ished. Some said that they felt more tense
during the time the whistle was blowing One
claimed that his concentration was better dur
ing the time the shrek was in his ear, but an
other insisted that he worked better without
the distraction
The scale which showed the actual distance
detected however, uninfuenced as it was by
the unpleasantness of sound, showed that the
sound was not hndrance, but an aid to the
VISION. ana CnlS deSplCe the opinion OF the
observer!
Perhaps you would like to try the experiment
yourself. It may not be possible for you to have
the use of a dark room and the apparatus for
adjusting the distance between the squares
but still you can get a rough idea Of what the
experience is like by pasting up a series of
squares various distances apart.
Use black paper-the construction paper used
by school children in the lower grades is very
good for the purpoSe-cut squares three cent?
meters on each side q 3-16 inches) and paste
these on white paper.
Better have pair about eighth of