Evening star., 1937-06-15

One Of the uueerest quirks Of the mind
and the eyes yet reported has been un-
covered In the psychological laboratory Of
Catholic University.
Experiments have been conducted
there for several years in the strange
phenomenon OF eidetic imagery. This
is 4 faculty possessed in varying degrees
by few children.
A rather complicated picture is placed
over = white screen before the child
After 1t has been looked at for few
seconds 1t is withdrawn. But appar-
ently-and it has been tested very rigidly
the child still sees the picture Just as
vividly As before.
It is not a case of remembering. 1t Is
actual, objective seeing. The child is
asked to describe in minute detail what
he gees" He does SO, with minuteness
which is completely beyond any posi-
bility OF memory. In some cases rather
intricate geometrical designs have been
shown and the subject afterwards asked
to trace what he sees on the-to every
body else-white sheet. He reproduces
the original design perfectly. There
can be no question but that he actually
sees something which is not there.
Now DR.. J. Edward Rauth and James
J. Sinnott have carried the experiment
one step further. A printed sheet, con-
tanning long, unfamiliar words, is placed
over the white sheet upside down. 1t
is removed and the child is asked to
read what is before him. He can't. It
is a meaningless tumble Of upside down
letters.
Then the blank sheet is turned around
The child reads" or spells out, the
original page.
t'To test this phenomenon more
rigidly," they say in their report just
made public by the Child Research Com
mittee OF the National Research Coun-
Gil, "a complicated picture was used. A
magazine advertisement was presented
in inverted position to several adults,
none of whom succeeded in perceiving
what it was. Upon rotation of the pic
ture, the variegated mass of daubs and
streaks was easily recognized as BIRTH
day cake. This inverted picture was
used in succeeding rotation experiments
with eidetic boys, and in every case
the meaning Of the picture became plain
only in the eidetic phase after the screen
had been rotated 180 degrees.
1T Is also curious to note that large
card with the word "Frigidaire" boldly
printed thereon was presented usually
in inverted position to a nine-year-old
eidetic boy. An inverted eidetic image
was obtained, but ie could not be in
terpreted. Upon rotation of the screen,
the boy recognized the image as word
which he could not pronounce, but
which he promptly spelled out. He re-
ported that one letter &c" had faded
out 50 that he could not perceive what
1t was"
They consider the reversed screen ex-
pertinent as incontrovertible evidence Of
the objectivity Of the child's experience.
He doesn't imagine, he doesn't remem-
ber-he sees. Something happens in the
complicated interaction Of eye and brain
which causes an image, once seen, to
persist as an actuality. There is no
conscious mental effort on the part OF
the youngster any more than there is
conscious mental effort involved in see
ing anything actually before the eyes.
The Catholic University experimenters
ind that, by and large, the laws Of
optics are obeyed in this sort Of vision.
1.-THE eidetic field," they say, sis fertile
with theoretical implications and ex-
perimental possibilities which should not
be overlooked. The basic facts that the
adottc image y extsrnau1ed. q seen.