Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XVI., December, 1880.Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XVI., December, 1880.
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
the chain of automatic movements which resulted in his seating himself
at the table. The weapon called into new life the well-known acts of the
battle-field. The spade brought back the day when, innocent of blood, he
cultivated the vineyards of sunny France.
In both the dog and the man just spoken of the control of the will over
the emotions and mental acts was evidently lost, and the mental
functions were performed only in obedience to impulses from
without--i.e. were automatic. The human brain is a complex and very
delicate mechanism, so uniform in its actions, so marvellous in its
creation, that it is able to measure the rapidity of its own processes.
There are scarcely two brains which work exactly with the same rapidity
and ease. One man thinks faster than another man for reasons as purely
physical as those which give to one man a faster gait than that of
another. Those who move quickly are apt to think quickly, the whole
nervous system performing its processes with rapidity. This is not,
however, always the case, as it is possible for the brain to be
differently constructed, so far as concerns its rapidity of action, from
the spinal cord of the same individual. Our power of measuring time
without instruments is probably based upon the cerebral system of each
individual being accustomed to move at a uniform rate. Experience has
taught the brain that it thinks so many thoughts or does so much work in
such a length of time, and it judges that so much time has elapsed when
it has done so much work. The extraordinary sense of prolongation of
time which occurs in the intoxication produced by hasheesh is probably
due to the fact that under the influence of the drug the brain works
very much faster than it habitually does. Having produced a multitude of
images or thoughts in a moment, the organ judges that a corresponding
amount of time has elapsed. Persons are occasionally seen who have the
power of waking at any desired time: going to bed at ten o'clock, they
will rouse themselves at four, five or six in the morning, as they have
made up their minds to do the previous night. The explanation of this
curious faculty seems to be that in these persons the brain-functions go
on with so much regularity during sleep that the brain is enabled to
judge, though unconsciously, when the time fixed upon has arrived, and
by an unconscious effort to recall consciousness.
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