Physiognomy and Phrenology wrap up

Overall with Pseudo-sciences, I've been discovering that they obviously do not hold up to experimentation. I think that the reason people might have believed in this sort of thing is the argument from authority, of smart looking scholars telling them that it is true. Also, one can skim one of these books and say, "Oh, I'm smart, and it says that this aspect of my head/face means I'm smart, how canny!" Yet, most people do not delve in and really examine what the shape of their nostrils means. With much scrutiny at all, these 'sciences' fall apart. I was nearly wanting to believe them, because it 's fun to imagine you can determine people's personalities based on this sort of thing, but it just isn't possible. I'm a bit disappointed, and I fear that I am going to be doubly disappointed on my next experiment, contacting the dead with a Ouija board. I tried it out a bit last night, I will write a quick summary in my next entry.

Physiognomy Experiment

Sorry for the delay, things always take longer than you'd think. Tonight I will be posting a self physiognomy experiment, in which I analyze my own face.
Actually, I had someone else analyze it for me, because I figured they would be a more impartial judge than I would be. I will list some of the 'observations' that were made based on information from the book Amazing Face Reading - an Illustrated Encyclopedia For Reading Faces.

"slightly impatient
barely jealous and untrustworthy
very strong sex drive
very intelligent/high IQ
logical, abstract thinker
slightly unforgiving, mean, and miserly
slightly good moneymaking potential
very adaptable to changing circumstances
slightly pessimistic, immature, unpredictable
good at rote learning/memorization, general knowledge, literary quotes
somewhat zealous/firm resolve
somewhat cunning/sly
good stamina/will to succeed
chronic indecision/ defeatism
lacks energy
inclined to use authority with fairness
good common sense
somewhat friendly, easy going and approachable
cranky and idiosyncratic
haste for satisfaction
expect reciprocity in relationships, and a bit touchy
chilly, standoffish and remote
serious thinker at early age
strong feelings
intolerant - conservative
slightly discontent
people think you are trustworthy or innocent. "

Now, I read over this list, and decided with my friend how true each was on a scale of 1-3, and I calculated the percentage of correctness. I won't say which ones are true, because it's too embarrassing! (My blog, afterall.)

I got an average of 2.13 correctness, so only slightly more than half of the time were these ideas true. Overall, that seems as good a chance as just randomly guessing. 9 points were very true, and 4 were very untrue. The vast majority being "sort of true." I was rather underwhelmed again.

Physiognomy

I began reading through Physiognomy Illustrated by Joseph Simms (1889) on Google Books. I was very disappointed that despite the entertaining illustrations, this book seems very morally bankrupt and silly. Compared to Fowler's book, this book is extremely racist, sexist and Euro-centric. All other races are 'proven' to be worse than Europeans, the lower classes considered criminals by nature, and women only worthwhile humans if they are docile and friendly. In addition, there is a lot of silly information, such as people with large noses being good at smelling things, and people who are gluttonous to have double chins. He also tries to prove points by giving animal examples, sometimes ones that seem very strange, such as crows having 'high suspiciousness' and owls having very small. (Aren't owls as suspicious as any bird?)
As I continued on in the book, I came across increasingly ridiculous parts, such as 'dog headed' people of the world, and that people in Zanzibar have noses that zig zag shaped. I can't imagine that people were still thinking ridiculous things like this in 1889, so I'm not sure what to think about this book.

Phrenology and Physiognomy

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I've been reading way too many books on these subjects, and gotten a bit behind. I thought I would make some quick thoughts before I post about an experiment or two I will undertake this weekend.
One thing that struck me interesting, was that phrenology is much more general than I thought. I had always heard it was about 'looking for lumps' on a person's head, but it's actually more about the general shape, size and appearance of the head. Physiognomy of the skull, in a manner of speaking.
I was also surprised as I read a book by the Fowler brothers, (one of the brothers) that they seemed rather progressive for the time. The book I'm reading was written in 1899, but it is not nearly as racist as some books on physiognomy I've read from forty or fifty years later. There is quite a bit of Euro-centrism, (the European face seemingly the 'average' face,) but women are included in the book without derogatory remarks, and some differences in the races commented on, but nothing very dismissive or offensive. (Any more offensive than saying that people with small foreheads are 'idiots.') Overall, surprising for this time period.
I checked out more modern books, but they seem to mostly just be rehashing information from these older books, and taking out some parts that seem bizarre or offensive to modern people. I love reading these old books, I scanned the oldest, and will post images from it, (if not the whole book,) on Monday. In all of them, people have underlined passages, and made notes. One book in particular has nearly every page covered in tiny illegible penciled words. I love old books, and the more it shows that people have actually read them over the years, the more I like them.

Phrenology and Physiognomy

Due to the interchangeability of phrenology and physiognomy, I have elected to combine the two topics into one long section that I will cover for the next two weeks. At first, I had a hard time tracking down books on these subjects, particularly physiognomy. I think that because that it has been used to justify racism and certainly looks-ism, it has become scarce and some of the only remaining texts on it are those from the perspectives of rather ill personage. I did eventually find some, and now have a stack of books with extreme "character", and extensive use of Futura font. One book I have has a stamp from someone checking it out in 1910! (I had no idea books this old were able to be checked out from my local library.) I will post shortly some thoughts on these subjects once I'm using a computer that isn't as terrible as the one in my college's writing center.