criminal psychology-第125部分

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s　of　the　gables；　to　be　short；but　until　now　the　knowledge　of　this　supposition　has　had　no　practical　value。　Nevertheless；　the　significance　of　these　illusions　should　not　be　underestimated。　They　mean　most　of　all　the　fact　that　we　really　can　be　much　deceived；　even　to　the　degree　of　swearing　to　the　size　of　a　simple　thing　and　yet　being　quite　innocently　mistaken。　This　possibility　shows；　moreover；　that　the　certainty　of　our　judgment　according　to　sensible　standards　is　inadequate　and　we　have　no　way　of　determining　how　great　this　inadequacy　is。　We　have　already　indicated　that　we　know　only　the　examples　cited　by　Zllner；　Delboeuf　and　others。　It　is　probable　that　they　were　hit　upon　by　accident　and　that　similar　ones　can　not　be　discovered　empirically　or　intentionally。　Hence；　it　may　be　assumed　that　such　illusions　occur　in　great　number　and　even　in　large　dimensions。　For　example；　it　is　known　that　Thompson　discovered　his　familiar　‘‘optical　circle　illusion''　（six　circles　arranged　in　a　circle；　another　in　the　middle。　Each　possesses　bent　radii　which　turn　individually　if　the　whole　drawing　is　itself　turned　in　a　circle）　by　the　accident　of　having　seen　the　geometrical　ornament　drawn　by　a　pupil。　Whoever　deals　with　such　optical　illusions　may　see　very　remarkable　ones　in　almost　every　sample　of　ladies'　clothes；　particularly　percale；　and　also　in　types　of　carpets　and　furniture。　And　these　are　too　complicated　to　be　described。　In　the　course　of　time　another　collection　of　such　illusions　will　be　discovered　and　an　explanation　of　them　will　be　forthcoming；　and　then　it　may　be　possible　to　determine　how　our　knowledge　of　their　existence　can　be　turned　to　practical　use。

Practical　application　is　easier　in　the　so…called　inversion　of　the　visual　object。　Fig。　7　shows　the　simplest　case　of　itthe　possibility　of　seeing　the　middle　vertical　line　as　either　deeper　or　higher　than　the　others。　In　the　first　instance　you　have　before　you　a　gutter；


｛illust。　caption　=　FIG。　7。｝

｛illust。　caption　=　FIG。　8。｝


in　the　second　a　room。　Similar　relations　are　to　be　observed　in　the　case　of　a　cube　in　which　the　corner　a　may　be　seen　as　either　convex　or　concave　according　as　　you　think　it　behind　or　before　the　background　of　the　angles　from　which　_a_　proceeds。　It　is　still　clearer　when；　in　a　rhomboid；　the　line　_XY_　is　drawn。　Then　_x_　or　_y_　may　be　seen　alternately　as　nearer　or　further　and　the　figure　can　thereby　be　brought　into　a　different　position。　（Fig。　9。）　Done　once　it　may　be　repeated　voluntarily。

There　are　many　practical　examples　of　these　illusions。　Sinsteden　saw　one　evening　the　silhouette　of　a　windmill　against　a　luminous　background。　The　arms　seemed　now


｛illust。　caption　=　FIG。　9。｝


to　go　to　the　right；　now　to　the　leftclearly　because　he　did　not　make　out　the　body　of　the　mill　and　might　equally　assume　that　he　saw　it　from　the　front　or　from　the　rear；　the　wheels　going　toward　the　right　in　the　first；　and　toward　the　left　in　the　other　case。　An　analogous　case　is　cited　by　Bernstein。　If　（Fig。　10）　the　cross　made　of　the　thin　lines　stand　for　the　bars　of　a　weather　vane　and　the　heavy　lines　represent　the　weather　vane　itself；　it　may　be　impossible　under　the　conditions　of　illumination　for　an　eye　looking　from　N　to　distinguish　whether　the　weather　vane　points　NE　or　SW；　there　is　no　way　of　determining　the　starting　point　of　motion。　All　that　can　certainly　be　said　is　that　the　weather　vane　lies　between　NE　and　SW　and　that


｛illust。　caption　=　FIG。　10。｝


its　angle　is　at　the　crossing　of　the　two　lines；　but　the　direction　in　which　its　heads　point　can　not　be　determined　at　even　a　slight　distance。　Both　forms　of　this　illusion　may　occur　in　a　criminal　trial。　If　once　a　definite　idea　of　some　form　of　order　has　been　gained；　it　is　not　abandoned　or　doubted；　and　is　even　sworn　to。　If　asked；　for　example；　whether　the　mill…wheel　moved　right　or　left；　the　observer　will　consider　hardly　one　time　in　a　hundred　whether　there　might　not　have　been　an　optical　illusion。　He　will　simply　assure　　us　that　the　thing　was　as　he　thinks　he　saw　it；　and　whether　he　saw　it　correctly　is　purely　a　matter　of　luck。

To　all　these　illusions　may　be　added　those　which　are　connected　with　movement　or　are　exposed　by　movement。　During　the　movement　of　certain　bodies　we　can　distinguish　their　form　only　under　definite　conditions。　As　their　movement　increases　they　seem　shorter　in　the　direction　of　movement　and　as　it　decreases　they　seem　broader　than　normally。　An　express　train　with　many　cars　seems　shorter　when　moving　directly　near　us；　and　rows　of　marching　men　seem　longer。　The　illusion　is　most　powerful　when　we　look　through　a　stationary　small　opening。　The　same　thing　occurs　when　we　move　quickly　past　bodies；　for　this　makes　them　seem　very　short　as　we　go　by。

Of　such　cases　sense…illusion　does　not　constitute　an　adequate　explanation；　it　must　be　supplemented　by　a　consideration　of　certain　inferences　which　are；　in　most　instances；　comparatively　complex。＇1＇　We　know；　e。　g。；　that　objects　which　appear　to　us　unexpectedly　at　night；　particularly　on　dark；　cloudy　nights；　seem　inordinately　magnified。　The　process　is　here　an　exceedingly　complex　one。　Suppose　I　see；　some　cloudy　night；　unexpectedly　close　to　me　a　horse　whose　environment；　because　of　the　fog；　appears　indistinct。　Now　I　know　from　experience　that　objects　which　appear　from　indistinct　environments　are　as　a　rule　considerably　distant。　I　know；　further；　that　considerably　distant　objects　seem　much　smaller；　and　hence　I　must　assume　that　the　horse；　which　in　spite　of　its　imaginary　distance　appears　to　retain　its　natural　size；　is　really　larger　than　it　is。　The　train　of　thought　is　as　follows：　‘‘I　see　the　horse　indistinctly。　It　seems　to　be　far　away。　It　is；　in　spite　of　its　distance；　of　great　size。　How　enormous　it　must　be　when　it　is　close　to　me！''　Of　course　these　inferences　are　neither　slow　nor　conscious。　They　occur　in　reflection　with　lightning…like　swiftness　and　make　no　difference　to　the　certainty　of　the　instantaneous　judgment。　Hence　it　is　frequently　very　difficult　to　discover　the　process　and　the　mistake　it　contains。


＇1＇　W。　Larden：　Optical　Illusion。　Nature　LXIII；　372　（1901）。


If；　however；　the　observer　finds　an　inexplicable　hiatus　in　an　event　he　happens　to　notice；　he　finds　it　strange　because　unintelligible。　In　this　way　is　created　that　notion　of　strangeness　which　often　plays　so　great　a　rle　in　the　examination　of　witnesses。　Hence　when　under　otherwise　uncomfortable　conditions；　I　see　a　horse　run　without　hearing　the　beat　of　his　hoofs；　when　I　see　trees　sway　without　feeling　any　storm；　when　I　meet　a　man　who；　in　spite　of　the　moonlight；　has　no　shadow；　I　feel　them　to　be　very　strange　because　something　is　lacking　　in　their　logical　development　as　events。　Now；　from　the　moment　a　thing　becomes　strange　to　an　individual　his　perceptions　are　no　longer　reliable；　it　is　doubtful　whether　he　knows　what　he　has　really　experienced　before　his　world　became　strange　to　him。　Add　to　this　that　few　people　are　unwilling　to　confess　that　they　felt　ill　at　ease；　that　perhaps　they　do　not　even　know　it；＇1＇　and　you　get　the　complicated　substitution　of　sensory　illusions　and　uncanny　sensation；　the　one　causing　the　other；　the　other　magnifying　the　one；　and　so　on　until　the　whole　affair　is　turned　into　something　quite　unrecognizable。　So　we　find　ourselves　in　the　presence　of　one　of　the　inexplicable　situations　of　the　reality　of　which　we　are　assured　by　the　most　trustworthy　individuals。


＇1＇　H。　Gross：　Lehrbuch　fr　den　Ausforschungsdienst　der　Gendarmerie。


To　magnify　this　phenomenon；　we　need　only　think　of　a　few　slightly　abnormal　cases。　It　has　already　been　indicated　that　there　are　many　such　which　are　not　diseased；　and　further；　that　many　diseased　cases　occur　which　are　not　known　as　such；　at　least；　as　being　so　much　so　as　to　make　the　judge　call　in　the　doctor。　This　is　the　more　likely　because　there　are　frequently；　if　I　may　say　so；　localized　diseases　which　do　not　exhibit　any　extraordinary　symptoms；　at　least　to　laymen；　and　hence　offer　no　reason　for　calling　in　experts。　If　we　set　aside　all　real　diseases　which　are　connected　with　optical　illusions　as　not　concerning　us；　there　are　still　left　instances　enough。　For　example；　any　medical　text…book　will　tell　you　that　morphine　fiends　and　victims　of　the　cocaine　habit　have　very　strong　tendencies　to　optical　illusions　and　are　often　tortured　by　them。　If　the　disease　is　sufficiently　advanced；　such　subjects　will　be　recognized　by　the　physician　at　a　single　glance。　But　the　layman　can　not　make　this　immediate　diagnosis。　He　will　get　the　impression　that　he　is　dealing　with　a　very　nervous　invalid；　but　not　with　one　who　is　subject　to　optical　illusions。　So；　we　rarely　hear　from　a　witness　that　he　knows　such　people；　and　certainly　not　that　he　is　one　himself。　A　very　notable　oculist；　Himly；　was　the　first　to　have　made　the　observation　that　in　the　diseased　excitability　of　the　retina　every　color　is　a　tone　higher。　Luminous　black　looks　blue；　blue　looks　violet；　violet　looks　red；　red　looks　yellow。　Torpor　of　the　retina　inverts　the　substitution。

Dietz＇2＇　tells　of　color…illusions　following　upon　insignificant　indigestion；　Foder　of　hysterics　who　see　everything　reversed；　and　Hoppe＇3＇　says；　‘‘If　the　order　of　the　rods　and　cones　of　the　retina　is　somewhat　disturbed　by　an　inflammatory　touch；　the　equilibrium　of　vision　is


＇2＇　ber　die　Quelle　der　Sinnestuschungen。　Magazin　fr　Seelenkunde　VIII。