"
Is a photograph a document or an illusion? The question, as old as the technology itself, remains fodder for critics and theorists, and every once in a while it comes before the court, as in an 1869 fraud case against William Howard Mumler, an early practitioner of "spirit photograp..."
Is a photograph a document or an illusion? The question, as old as the technology itself, remains fodder for critics and theorists, and every once in a while it comes before the court, as in an 1869 fraud case against William Howard Mumler, an early practitioner of "spirit photography."Mumler charged New Yorkers $10 - and if movies had been around by 1869, they would have cost a lot less than $10 - for formal portraits that, while they came with no firm guarantee of a visit from the great beyond, often included faint traces of a long-gone brother, fiancee or favorite actress in the background.As ridiculous as it might seem in a world that takes digital manipulation for granted, some of Mumler's customersbelieved he had detected the spirits of their loved ones.
The Mumler
case is recounted in "The Perfect Medium," a cleverly titled study of
the relationship between photography and the occult.
The companion
volume to an exhibition that originated at the Maison Européenne de la
Photographie in Paris, and remains at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
through the end of the year, it collects images, mostly black-and-white
and taken before 1930, that purport to show floating seance tables,
magnetism emanating from the hands, ectoplasm from the mouth and other
supernatural phenomena. This book is full of odd pictures with great
stories behind them, but it isn't perfect; the reproductions could be
sharper (a fine thread used to fake telekinesis is described in a
caption but doesn't show up in the corresponding plate), and the art
historiansobtusely stake out a neutral stance on the occult, with
phrases such as "whether he was a genuine medium or a fraud, Mumler
..." Then again, the judge in the Mumler case, though "morally
convinced that there had been trick and deception," found himself
wanting for evidence to see the fraud case through, despite testimony
by professional photographers who guessed at his methods, and also by
P.T. Barnum. Mumler retreated to Boston; a record of Mary Todd
Lincoln's visit to the spirit photographer there shows the 16th
president as a pallid, bearded wraith whose large ghostly hands rest on
his widow's shoulders.
Did any of the well-to-do
Bostonians with spiritualist leanings also sit for Albert Sands
Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes? "Young America" collects more than
2,000 Southworth & Hawes daguerreotypes made between 1845 and 1862.
Onehundred fif......
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The last ice age 13,000 years ago took hold in just one year, more than ten times quicker than previously believed, scientists have warned. Rather than a gradual cooling over a decade, the ice age plunged Europe into the deep freeze, German Research Centre for Geosciences at Potsdam said. Cold, stormy conditions causedby an abrupt shift in atmospheric circulation froze the continent almost instantly during the Younger Dryas less than 13,000 years ago – a very recent period on a geological scale....Magnets may make the brain grow stronger
Could magnets make the mind grow stronger? In mice at least, stimulating the brain with a magnetic coil appears to promote the growth of new neurons in areas associated with learning and memory. If the effect is confirmed in humans, it might open up new ways of treating age-related memory decline and diseases like Alzheimer's.Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used experimentally to treat a range of brain disorders, including depression and schizophrenia, and torehabilitate peo...Scientists claim dark matter discovery
Dark matter is thought to account for three-quarters of the matter in the universe but to date has never been directly observed. Now scientists are claiming a breakthrough discovery ofactual dark matter in a mine half a mile underground."For 80 years, it haseluded the finest minds in science. . But tonight it appeared that the hunt may be over for dark matter, the mysterious and invisible substance that accounts for three-quart...Sci-fi weapons from tomorrow, today
A run down of seven futuristic weapons that have passed squarely in to the realms of reality.From rail guns to automated robots, these weapon systems were once seen only in science fiction but are now very much a reality. This article takes a look at seven of the most interesting futuristic weapons of today.
Lifehas been imitating art with a vengeance lately in the field of weaponry. A number of weaponsand weapons systems now on active duty or in the prototype stage seem to have been r...Worlds oldest known DNA discovered
The oldest intact DNA ever found has been discovered inside salt deposits and belongs to a type of salt-loving bacteria that existed 419 million years ago making them some of the earliest life forms on Earth."Itwon"t make Jurassic Park a reality, but scientists have discovered 419 million-year-old DNAintact inside ancient salt deposits. . The genetic material, the oldest ever found, belongs to salt-loving bacteria whose ancesto...The higher you are, the faster you age
Extremely precise timepieces have been used to prove that you age faster the higher off the ground you are.New research has shown that if you lived your life on the second floor of a building you would age faster by 900 billionths of a second. Its not much, but for the first time scientists have been able to actually demonstrate that there is a difference. Researchers havedemonstrated one of Einstein"s theories of relativity - that the further away from the Earth you are, the faster tim...Worlds first bionic fingers unveiled
Scientists at Livingston based Touch Bionics have unveiled the ProDigits, the world's first bionic fingers. It is hoped that the motor-powered digits will transform the lives of peoplewho have missing fingers.
"Experts have unveiled what they claim are theworld's first bionic fingers which they hope will transform the lives of people with missing digits. . The motor-powered ProDigits have been developed by Touch Bionic...Japan to put humanoid robot on moon by 2015 ?
A new proposal by several Japanese companies is aiming to put an android on the moon within just 5 years.The robot named Maido-kun is hoping to hitch a ride on a planned mission to the moon by the Japanese space agency, once there it will walk around on the surface and draw the Japanese flag on the ground in the dust.
A humanoidrobot could be walking on the moon – and drawing the Japanese flag on its surface – by 2015, according to a plan proposed by a groupof Japanese companies. . Exp...Hadron Collider on verge of breakthrough ?
Scientists appear to have recreated in part the level of matter that existed at the beginning of the universe. Scientists are said to be "very excited" by the results which possibly constitute the Large Hadron Collider"s first major breakthrough, technicians are also pleased that the system is starting to deliverresults after its sketchy start. Scientists say colliding particles seem to be creating "hotdense matter" that would have existed microseconds after the Big Bang and might hold...Is graphene the new silicon?
Pioneers of a new material believe it could have the same applications as silicon.Although it"s been touted as the next big thing by the Nobel prize winning pioneers of graphene, somescientists believe it might not replace silicon as readily as some would have us believing. Graphene has been touted as the "miracle material" of the 21st Century.
Said to be the strongest material evermeasured, an improvement upon and a replacement for silicon and the most conductive material kno...
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Last ice age happened in less than a year
Magnets may make the brain grow stronger
Scientists claim dark matter discovery
Sci-fi weapons from tomorrow, today
Worlds oldest known DNA discovered
The higher you are, the faster you age
Worlds first bionic fingers unveiled
Japan to put humanoid robot on moon by 2015 ?
Hadron Collider on verge of breakthrough ?
Is graphene the new silicon?
