Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 42.djvu/528

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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

9 is another man, more like 7 than 5, also dark and dressed in black clothes. He is fine looking and a professional man.

To a class of twenty-nine students, of whom eight were young women, the following questions were recently given:

1. When you think of the numbers from 1 to 100, do you see them in any particular form? If so, will you write or draw it on paper?

2. When you think of the alphabet from a to z, do you see the letters in any particular form?

3. Have you any associations of color with the numbers or letters?


To these questions twenty-nine written answers were received, disclosing four number forms and a few simple alphabet forms. Immediately afterward, however, two others of the class told me privately that they thought they did have forms, although they had not reported them in writing. These were found, indeed, to be perfectly well defined, and are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The other four are shown in Figs. 5, 8, 9, and 10 (a). One curious alphabet form was found (Fig. 10, a), but no color associations. This method of inquiry revealed in this case, at least, a much larger percentage of number forms than that given by Galton. These six forms present also some new types. Fig. 5 is from a young man, who sees only the numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Of these, 7 is by far the most conspicuous, and is described as a black figure, fine and perfectly formed, standing on a reddish background. 6 and 8 are less distinct; 5 and 9 still less. Fig. 7 shows the number form of a young man, who sees the numbers from 1 to 9 in Italics on a horizontal line. The others are straight and form a right angle with the first. All the odd numbers appear to him as weak, affording in counting unsatisfactory places to stop. The

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 1000
12 22 32 42 52 62 72 82 92 10000
13 23 33 43 53 63 73 83 93 100000
14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94 1000000
15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 10000000
16 26 36 46 56 66 76 86 96 100000000
17 27 37 47 57 67 77 87 97 1000000000
18 28 38 48 58 68 78 88 98 10000000000
19 29 39 49 59 69 79 89 99 100000000000

Fig. 9.

even numbers are firm and strong, while 10 and its multiples are much larger and more prominent.

Fig. 8 is from a young woman who sees the numbers in a straight line; 1, 5, 10, 15, etc., appearing more distinct than the others, with wider spaces after 5 and its multiples.