Boris Sidis

“ Now when the head was inclined to one side or pressed hard or kept in a tense state for a couple of minutes at a stretch, he could see spirits floating in the air, he could see the little men with their saintly faces coming out of the ground and disappearing into it again. ”

“ Sensation A will arouse image a which in turn may arouse the whole train of images, b, c, d, but A cannot give rise to any of the sensations B, C, D. The image series a, b, c, d can be reproduced at will, in fact after a series of repetition the whole chain of links may rattle off against will, but nothing of the kind occurs in the case of sensations. Sensations do not form links in a chain which becomes automatic after many reproductions. Repetition of sensations does not form associated series; sensations maintain their independence. ”

“ The series of ideas or images is a reproduction of stimulated sense-organs with their accompanying sensations, the ideas running parallel to the original psycho-physiological processes, somewhat on the Spinozistic principle of ‘Ordo et connexio idearum idem est ac ordo et connexio rerum.’ And again in other cases, when not reproducing a previous series of sensory experience, the series of associated images may be more irregular and apparently capricious―a process usually described as the work of fancy, or imagination. ”

“ A sensation or image then may be followed by any series of images without the intermediacy of external excitations and peripheral physiological processes. A sensation, however, cannot be followed by a series of sensations without the intermediacy of external stimulations. A sensation can only be initiated by its own appropriate stimulus and by its own specialized peripheral physiological processes. ”

“ Another patient of mine suffers from auditory hallucinations. He hears people abusing him and calling him names. The hallucinations occur when he is awake, but they are frequent when he is on the point of falling asleep, or when he wakes up. He thinks, in fact he hears that people whisper about him. The voices are observed to increase in frequency and intensity with the presence of external noises, such as noises made in the hall, or sounds made by cars passing by. The patient was observed having subconscious or unconscious movements of lips, tongue and even of the jaws. ”

“ The smell of a rose does not by simple association give rise to a series of sensations of touring in an automobile, nor does the eating of beefsteak give rise, through association, to the hearing of a symphony. In other words, there is an internal association of images or ideas, but there is not an internal association of sensations. Images once born can be reproduced endlessly and at will, sensations die almost immediately after they are born and must be renewed every time under the same conditions of external stimulations. ”

“ When he hears the voices the subconscious movements increase so that they may be perceived at a distance. Even the nurse could not help perceiving the subconscious whispering made by the patient. When the patient looks through a printed or written page the subconscious whispering increases. The same is observed when the patient is very much interested in something or absorbed in deep thought. During such times he complains that he hears voices. With his mouth wide open and holding his tongue stationary, the unconscious whispering ceases and along with it the auditory hallucinations disappear. ”

“ One image or representation relating to a sensation of one sense-organ may be associated and bring in its train of associations any other image relating to any other sensation of any other sense-organ. ”

“ In perceiving the chair yonder only the visual sensations constitute the true sensory groups that form the nucleus of the percept. The other psychic groups that are crystallized round the percept, such as weight, resistance, volume, size, shape, distance are really visuo-tacto motor groups they are largely tacto-muscular groups tinged by the sensory quality of the nucleus ”