Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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False memory syndrome
A term that came into use following cases in the late 1980s where memories of abuse were coaxed out of children by therapists. The memories were later proved to be false, hence the name “false memory syndrome,” and some individuals were found to have been wrongly accused of child sexual abuse and/or Satanic ritual abuse…
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Fairies
Inhuman, but humanlike creatures, sometimes with paranormal powers. Encounters between humans and fairies appear in folklore around the world. These fairies differ in form and appearance: Some are tiny, others are tall, some are ugly, others are beautiful. It was not until Victorian times that fairies were sentimentalized as tiny benevolent creatures with butterflylike wings,…
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Eyeless sight
The ability to see without the use of the eyes. The idea has been championed by a variety of scientists and writers under a variety of names including dermo-optical perception, paroptic, hyperesthesia, synesthesia, cutaneous vision (skin vision), extraretinal vision, and biointroscopy. The idea was introduced into the modern world by 20th-century French author Jules Romains…
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Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence
The search by scientists of several nations for some sign of intelligent life on other worlds. Some believe that intelligent life exists on other planets. With an estimated 400 billion stars in our own galaxy and a guess (based on present theories of star formation) that a tenth of them may have planets one per…
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Exploration hoaxes
Fraudulent claims of discoveries of some hitherto unknown part of Earth and its inhabitants. Just as the astronomer has the task of discovering the structure of the universe and the microbiologist that of microorganisms, the explorer’s task is finding out about and mapping the structure, topology, and demography of a specific locality on Earth’s surface.…
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Progressive evolution
The widespread popular scientific idea, current since the late 18th century, that a progressive force might occur in nature. Both Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles DARWIN 1809-82) and France’s Count George de Buffon (1707-78) favored such versions of evolution, including the idea that plant and animal species have changed during the existence of life on…
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Henry Havelock Ellis
An eminent British psychologist of the early 20th century. He published the landmark work Studies in the Psychology of Sex in seven volumes between 1897 and 1928 the final, complete edition was not published until 1936 as well as many other books and papers. His promotion of a more open attitude to sex and to…
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Electronic voice phenomenon
Also known as Raudive voices, the phenomenon of mysterious voices, apparently from dead individuals, impressed on tape recordings made on unmodified standard recording apparatus. The phenomenon was discovered by Friedrich Jurgenson in 1959 but was extensively pursued and popularized by Konstantine Raudive, a Latvian psychologist and parapsychologist. Jiirgenson, a painter and film producer, discovered the…
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Electric shock treatment
Also referred to as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); in use since the 1930s as a treatment for depression that consists of the application of weak electric currents to the head through electrodes. The belief is that the frontal lobe of the brain is the part most affected in depression and that, by damaging it temporarily, the…
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Arnold Ehret
German doctor of naturopathy who developed the Mucusless Diet Healing System, still popularly advocated in health-food circles. Ehret was born in Freiburg, Baden, Germany. Shortly after graduating from the University of Freiburg, he was drafted into the army but was soon released because of his heart condition. As his health continued to degenerate, he turned…
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