Page:Mind (Old Series) Volume 11.djvu/63

 52 J. JACOBS : Mr. Galton's studies in imagination might be followed by similar inquiries on after-images, powers of observation, memory, linguistic capacity, calculation, capacity for follow- ing trains of reasoning of various kinds, and the like. If this were systematically effected, it would not be too much to hope that before many years were over, a schoolboy's mental powers could be tested and measured with as much accuracy as his height and weight are now. We want to know more about colour-blindness and note-deafness, about the lip-language of deaf-mutes, the personal equations of astrono- mers, the mental processes of paralysed persons, of calculat- ing boys, and of the so-called ' thought-readers '. It would be useful to have some actual trains of association jotted down by psychologists who can write shorthand. Details of memory could be tested by accurate observation of the events at the time of occurrence. Can we think in a foreign language ? When we read a novel, do we actually have pictures of the scenes before our minds ? When novelists write, have they similar pictures and how far do these corres- pond ? Can we, like Caesar is said to have done, read and listen at the same time, and then reproduce what we have read and heard ? How quickly can one read, and how much does retention depend on the pace of reading? How are family traits set ? Our sensations of local and temporary death in a limb that is ' asleep ' are fit subjects of inquiry. What is the difference in our minds when alone, among friends, in a crowd of fellow-townsmen, in a crowd of foreigners ? How many things can we attend to at once ? All these and a hundred similar questions will occur to any one accustomed to think about his own thoughts. Not that all of them deserve equal attention : on the plan T am sug- gesting this would be determined by the executive commit- tee before papers of questions could be issued. But most of them admit of easy tests being applied, and some of them or others that might be suggested may aid us in settling such problems as these : the influence of early impressions, the ingredients of character, the classification of the emotions, varying susceptibility to bodily pain and mental anguish, variation in the intensity of the point, and extent of the field, of attention. Above all we want experiment will-practice : it is possible that character could In- im- mensely modified if we could begin by training our will on one thing till we got it perfectly under control. Or il may turn out that this is impossible beyond a certain age which would have to be determined. The whole field of heredity would still remain, affording enough work for a society by itself.