登陆注册
5384300000081

第81章

the one is the proved facility of obtaining statistical insight into the processes of other persons' minds, whatever a priori objection may have been made as to its possibility; and the other is that scientific men, as a class, have feeble powers of visual representation.There is no doubt whatever on the latter point, however it may be accounted for.My own conclusion is that an over-ready perception of sharp mental pictures is antagonistic to the acquirement of habits of highly-generalized and abstract thought, especially when the steps of reasoning are carried on by words as symbols, and that if the faculty of seeing the pictures was ever possessed by men who think hard, it is very apt to be lost by disuse.The highest minds are probably those in which it is not lost, but subordinated, and is ready for use on suitable occasions.I am, however, bound to say that the missing faculty seems to be replaced so serviceably by other modes of conception, chiefly, I believe, connected with the incipient motor sense, not of the eyeballs only but of the muscles generally, that men who declare themselves entirely deficient in the power of seeing mental pictures can nevertheless give lifelike descriptions of what they have seen, and can otherwise express themselves as if they were gifted with a vivid visual imagination.

They can also become painters of rank of Royal Academicians.

...

"It is a mistake to suppose that sharp sight is accompanied by clear visual memory.I have not a few instances in which the independence of the two faculties is emphatically commented on; and I have at least one clear case where great interest in outlines and accurate appreciation of straightness, squareness, and the like, is unaccompanied by the power of visualizing.Neither does the faculty go with dreaming.I have cases where it is powerful, and at the same time where dreams are rare and faint or altogether absent.One friend tells me that his dreams have not the hundredth part of the vigor of his waking fancies.

"The visualizing and the identifying powers are by no means necessarily combined.A distinguished writer on metaphysical topics assures me that he is exceptionally quick at recognizing a face that he has seen before, but that he cannot call up a mental image of any face with clearness.

"Some persons have the power of combining in a single perception more than can be seen at any one moment by the two eyes....

"I find that a few persons can, by what they often describe as a kind of touch-sight, visualize at the same moment all round the image of a solid body.Many can do so nearly, but not altogether round that of a terrestrial globe.An eminent mineralogist assures me that he is able to imagine simultaneously all the sides of a crystal with which he is familiar.I may be allowed to quote a curious faculty of my own in respect to this.It is exercised only occasionally and in dreams, or rather in nightmares, but under those circumstances I am perfectly conscious of embracing an entire sphere in a single perception.It appears to lie within my mental eyeball, and to be viewed centripetally.

"This power of comprehension is practically attained in many cases by indirect methods.It is a common feat to take in the whole surroundings of an imagined room with such a rapid mental sweep as to leave some doubt whether it has not been viewed simultaneously.

Some persons have the habit of viewing objects as though they were partly transparent; thus, if they so dispose a globe in their imagination as to see both its north and south poles at the same time, they will not be able to see its equatorial parts.They can also perceive all the rooms of an imaginary house by a single mental glance, the walls and floors being as if made of glass.A fourth class of persons have the habit of recalling scenes, not from the point of view whence they were observed, but from a distance, and they visualize their own selves as actors on the mental stage.By one or other of these ways, the power of seeing the whole of an object, and not merely one aspect of it, is possessed by many persons.

"The place where the image appears to lie differs much.Most persons see it in an indefinable sort of way, others see it in front of the eye, others at a distance corresponding to reality.

There exists a power which is rare naturally, but can, I believe, be acquired without much difficulty, of projecting a mental picture upon a piece of paper, and of holding it fast there, so that it can be outlined with a pencil.To this I shall recur.

"Images usually do not become stronger by dwelling on them; the first idea is commonly the most vigorous, but this is not always the case.Sometimes the mental view of a locality is inseparably connected with the sense of its position as regards the points of the compass, real or imaginary.I have received full and curious descriptions from very different sources of this strong geographical tendency, and in one or two cases I have reason to think it allied to a considerable faculty of geographical comprehension.

"The power of visualizing is higher in the female sex than in the male, and is somewhat, but not much, higher in public-school boys than in men.After maturity is reached, the further advance of age does not seem to dim the faculty, but rather the reverse, judging from numerous statements to that effect; but advancing years are sometimes accompanied by a growing habit of hard abstract thinking, and in these cases not uncommon among those whom I have questioned -- the faculty undoubtedly becomes impaired.There is reason to believe that it is very high in some young children, who seem to spend years of difficulty in distinguishing between the subjective and objective world.Language and book-learning certainly tend to dull it.

同类推荐
  • 师友诗传录

    师友诗传录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 金刚经科仪

    金刚经科仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 口技

    口技

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 和友人新居园上

    和友人新居园上

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 祭统

    祭统

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 中国民间禁忌风俗

    中国民间禁忌风俗

    本书包括禁忌的起源、日常生活中的禁忌、各行各业的禁忌、人生一世的禁忌、万事万物的禁忌以及禳解禁忌免遭惩罚等方面的知识。
  • 养正遗规

    养正遗规

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 三千劫尽

    三千劫尽

    一个身怀秘密的少年一段古老久远的往事无数的命运缠绕其中到底是继续修罗之路亦或者终结悲剧轮回光与暗交织谱写乐章奏响三千劫起的开端
  • 时光不老,我们不散

    时光不老,我们不散

    时间毫不妥协地流走,唯独带不走记忆和我们。你可以拒绝很多东西,却无法拒绝遗忘。所以,那些被偷走时光中的际遇,那些不散场的人们,都留在了这本书中。最终,我们不断告别,偶尔怀念。一间单身公寓,保留一份果敢的自己;一抹红唇,倔强不老去等待一个人;一份白粥,让日子回到简单诚意……女人的优雅,生活的美丽都不是一蹴就,但有些勇气却可翻山越岭,温暖却始终触手可及。成长中的遇见,总是不经意地变成自己的一部分。时光不老,我们不散。
  • 末世重生之昕昕向荣

    末世重生之昕昕向荣

    前世孙昕昕被“恩人”耍得团团转,又当间谍又卖血,最后还给送人头。今生孙昕昕表示自己要奋起,珍爱生命远离渣男,守护家人重建社会主义美好家庭。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 拆拆爱

    拆拆爱

    宁毁十座庙,不拆一桩亲的时代已经过去,拆爱师就应运而生了。他们从雇主处取得报酬,以“拆爱”为最终目的。良心拆爱师白素素与黑心拆爱师的鸡血对决,看谁能拆了谁的爱!
  • 海贼盖伦

    海贼盖伦

    【这是海贼同人】我,盖伦,有系统。此外,书名其实是《海贼王世界里的正义骑士、能抗能打大宝剑、德玛西亚之力盖伦》的缩写。【新书】《李青的奇妙冒险》求各位书友老爷支持!
  • 佛母般若波罗蜜多圆集要义论

    佛母般若波罗蜜多圆集要义论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 神天战魂之战天

    神天战魂之战天

    他没有超大隐士家族的背景,没有天赋极佳的练武体魄!他就是一个落魄家族的废柴,一个被家族所遗弃的庸人!一次偶然用生命换来的‘圣果’,让他从此走上了不平凡的强者之路!一喝动寰宇,一掌定乾坤!是他的存在,让你见证了奇遇与苦修的真正意义!他的名字就叫做——楚风!
  • 超级战神(第二次世界大战史丛书)

    超级战神(第二次世界大战史丛书)

    本书综合国内外的最新研究成果和最新解密资料,在有关专家和部门的指导下,以第二次世界大战的历史进程为线索,贯穿了大战的主要历史时期、主要战场战役和主要军政人物,全景式展现了第二次世界大战的恢宏画卷。