Thoughtography

The Fortean Times has a delightful article about a period at the turn of the 20th century where there was a brief but intense interest in the possibility of ‘the psychic project¬≠ion of images directly onto film’.

This was sort of thing was much less of a fringe interest then and it drew in some serious scientific and academic heavyweights interested in whether thoughts could be imprinted onto photographic material.

In 1893, the no less enterprising Nicola Tesla came up with a plan for a Gedankenprojektor (‘thought projector’) [pictured]. As he recalled 40 years later: “I became convinced that a definite image formed in thought must by reflex action produce a corresponding image on the retina, which might be read by a suitable apparatus. This brought me to my system of television which I announced at the time… My idea was to employ an artificial retina receiving an object of the image seen, an optic nerve and another retina at the place of reproduction… both being fashioned somewhat like a checkerboard, with the optic nerve being a part of the earth.”

This was a time when radio waves and electricity were still poorly understood and it wasn’t at all clear to many that they were any different to psychic or supernatural phenomena.

As we’ve discussed previously on Mind Hacks, the idea that such technology could allow us a gateway to the ‘spirit world’ was taken quite seriously.

This idea is still prevalant, of course, but doesn’t particularly preoccupy the most eminent scientists of the day.

However, one of my favourite Spanish-language books, and indeed, one of my favourite books in my collection, is a tome entitled 7 Metodos Para Comunicarse Con El Mas Alla, or, ‘7 Methods to Communicate with The Beyond’.

Among other things, it’s a guide to contacting the dead through your computer.

I’ve yet to try it myself as I have enough trouble contacting the living through my computer, plus, receiving penis enlargement spam from the recently deceased must surely be a little discouraging.

Link to Fortean Times on the curious history of ‘thoughtography’.