Hello all you TIPSies, I wanted to get a message in before everyone took their midmorning and afternoon naps. Because of various projects (both home-related and work-related), I have contributed little to TIPS this summer. I thought I should rectify that somewhat. While reading on the stair climber this morning, I came across the following "fun fact" that I had never heard before. According to Beyerstein (1999), Hans Berger, the developer of the electroencephalogram, intended his device to measure neural activity associated with psychic phenomena: "The German psychiatrist, Hans Berger (1873-1941), was initially moved to adapt for human use the apparatus employed by earlier researchers to record the electrical activity of animals' brains because he thought it might reveal a mechanism that could account for psychic phenomena (Beyerstein, 1985). Berger saw the equipment he developed and named the _electroencephalogram_ ... as a means of reconciling his spiritual beliefs with science. To the dismay of his colleagues, he even devoted part of his inaugural address when he became Rector of the University of Jena to the use of the EEG in the study of clairvoyance and telepathy. In the last publication of his life, Berger outlined his theory of how thoughts could be propagated telepathically by radiating brain waves. Unfortunately, these fluctuating brain currents (at one time known as the "Berger rhythm") obey the inverse square law and drop to infinitesimal levels only millimetres from the scalp." (P. 64) Perhaps we have such a hard time finding evidence for psychic phenomena because of the overuse of anti-dandruff shampoo: we're washing away our Berger Rhythms. I post, therefore I am, Jeff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ References: Beyerstein, B.L. (1985). The myth of alpha conscioosness. _The Skeptical Inquirer_, _10_ (No. 1), 42-59. Beyerstein, B. L. (1999). Pseudoscience and the brain: Tuners and tonics for aspiring superhumans. In S. Della Sala (Ed.), _Mind myths: Exploring popular assumptions about the mind and brain_ (pp. 59-82). New York: John Wiley & Sons. -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (602) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (602) 423-6298 Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED] Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ 85250 "For every problem, there is a solution that is neat, simple, and wrong." H. L. Mencken
