Nensha
Encyclopedia
, better known to English
speakers as thoughtography or projected thermography or nengraphy, is the ability to psychically
"burn" images from one's mind onto surfaces, or even into the minds of others. It is common in fiction
, and made noteworthy by the recent Ring
/The Ring
media franchise
. While the term "thoughtography" has been in the English lexicon since 1913, the more recent term "projected thermography" is a neologism originating from the 2002 U.S. remake of The Ring.
ulent.
of psychology
at Tokyo University and a firm believer in the supernatural
, took a woman named Ikuko Nagao under his wing. Unlike his previous failed experimentation with clairvoyant
Chizuko Mifune
earlier that year, Fukurai was determined to prove his claims as true and decided to work with Nagao's skill, a talent he labeled nensha (spirit photography). Unfortunately, Nagao's efforts were also labelled as fraudulent; distraught by the claims, she developed a fever which ultimately led to her death. However, Fukurai was undeterred, and in 1911, Fukurai worked with other nensha practitioners but found little success.
In 1913, Fukurai took on a subject that would advance his claims further, a woman named Sadako Takahashi. Takahashi, who claimed to have developed both clairvoyance and nensha through breathing and mental exercises, met Fukurai and soon was able to breathe life into his sagging studies. She was able to convince enough skeptics that later that year Fukurai published a book called Tōshi to Nensha, later translated and published throughout the world as Clairvoyance and Thoughtography. Fukurai would later work with another nensha practitioner, Mita Koichi , who was said to create a thoughtograph of the dark side of the moon.
In the end, however, Fukurai's theories never gained widespread popularity, and in 1919, he resigned his post at the university to continue his research. Before his death in 1952, Fukurai founded the Fukurai Institute of Psychology, an organization that studies the paranormal and still survives to this day.
resident Ted Serios
became noted for the production of nensha on Polaroid
film supposedly using only his psychic powers. His abilities were endorsed by Jule Eisenbud, a Denver-based psychiatrist
who wrote a book lauding Serios's talents called The World of Ted Serios: "Thoughtographic" studies of an extraordinary mind. Serios's images, which often appeared surrounded by dark areas on the film, were often of typical postcard scenes. Serios eventually was only able to produce his photographs while holding "the gizmo" to his forehead. This device has been described as "a small section of tubing fitted with a piece of photo squeegee." http://www.goodbyemag.com/mar99/mental.html
As Eisenbud's book readily admits, many of Serios's thoughtographs were produced while Serios was drunk or had been drinking alcohol. According to Eisenbud, "Ted Serios exhibits a behavior pathology with many character disorders. He does not abide by the laws and customs of our society. He ignores social amenities and has been arrested many times. His psychopathic and sociopathic personality manifests itself in many other ways. He does not exhibit self-control and will blubber, wail and bang his head on the floor when things are not going his way." (Professional photographer Nile Root's own investigation into Serios quoted Eisenbud as saying this.)http://www.niler.com/es8.html
The effect has not yet been replicated, and no reasonable theory has been put forth as to how the hoax, if any, was perpetrated. Eisenbud's faith in Serios was extreme, and even as late as the 1980s, Eisenbud claimed that previously unidentified thoughtographs were images of Ganymede
, a moon of Jupiter. Pictures of Ganymede had only become available a year before thanks to Voyager 2
. "Unfortunately," wrote Eisenbud, "I couldn't get an astronomer or optical scientist to agree."
began to perform nensha by using a 35 mm camera
upon which the lens cap would be left on. He would then take pictures of his forehead, and then have the pictures developed, to which Geller claimed that the images had come directly from his mind.
Stage magician and skeptic
James Randi
immediately criticized the event, claiming fraud on Geller's part (see below).
maker, creating the pictures in this manner. Furthermore, Root charges that Serios' wild manner and actions may have been a deliberate attempt to hide prestidigitation
to insert the object into the "gizmo" which would then expose the film. Root has since then given extensive details on how he believes the thoughtographs were created, as well as "digital versions" of the same.http://www.niler.com/estitle.html
Randi, based on his studies of Eisenbud's work, makes similar claims about Serios. A quote from Randi's website states:
As for the Geller incidents, Randi claims that Geller is either performing a similar act as Serios, or is using already-exposed film in the camera, a charge Geller has consistently denied.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speakers as thoughtography or projected thermography or nengraphy, is the ability to psychically
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
"burn" images from one's mind onto surfaces, or even into the minds of others. It is common in fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, and made noteworthy by the recent Ring
Ring (film)
is a 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel Ring by Kōji Suzuki, which in turn draws on the Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki. The film stars Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rikiya Ōtaka as members of a divorced family...
/The Ring
The Ring (2002 film)
The Ring is a 2002 American psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson. It is a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring....
media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. While the term "thoughtography" has been in the English lexicon since 1913, the more recent term "projected thermography" is a neologism originating from the 2002 U.S. remake of The Ring.
Incidents
There are three well-known individuals involving thoughtography or the research of same, all of which have been decried at one point or another as fraudFraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
ulent.
Tomokichi Fukurai
In 1910, Tomokichi Fukurai, an assistant professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at Tokyo University and a firm believer in the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, took a woman named Ikuko Nagao under his wing. Unlike his previous failed experimentation with clairvoyant
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
Chizuko Mifune
Chizuko Mifune
Chizuko Mifune was a self-proclaimed clairvoyant during the late Meiji period in Japan.-Early years:...
earlier that year, Fukurai was determined to prove his claims as true and decided to work with Nagao's skill, a talent he labeled nensha (spirit photography). Unfortunately, Nagao's efforts were also labelled as fraudulent; distraught by the claims, she developed a fever which ultimately led to her death. However, Fukurai was undeterred, and in 1911, Fukurai worked with other nensha practitioners but found little success.
In 1913, Fukurai took on a subject that would advance his claims further, a woman named Sadako Takahashi. Takahashi, who claimed to have developed both clairvoyance and nensha through breathing and mental exercises, met Fukurai and soon was able to breathe life into his sagging studies. She was able to convince enough skeptics that later that year Fukurai published a book called Tōshi to Nensha, later translated and published throughout the world as Clairvoyance and Thoughtography. Fukurai would later work with another nensha practitioner, Mita Koichi , who was said to create a thoughtograph of the dark side of the moon.
In the end, however, Fukurai's theories never gained widespread popularity, and in 1919, he resigned his post at the university to continue his research. Before his death in 1952, Fukurai founded the Fukurai Institute of Psychology, an organization that studies the paranormal and still survives to this day.
Ted Serios
In the 1960s, ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
resident Ted Serios
Ted Serios
Theodore 'Ted' Judd Serios was a Chicago bellhop, who became known in the 1960s by producing "thoughtographs" on Polaroid film. He claimed these were produced using psychic powers...
became noted for the production of nensha on Polaroid
Instant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
film supposedly using only his psychic powers. His abilities were endorsed by Jule Eisenbud, a Denver-based psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
who wrote a book lauding Serios's talents called The World of Ted Serios: "Thoughtographic" studies of an extraordinary mind. Serios's images, which often appeared surrounded by dark areas on the film, were often of typical postcard scenes. Serios eventually was only able to produce his photographs while holding "the gizmo" to his forehead. This device has been described as "a small section of tubing fitted with a piece of photo squeegee." http://www.goodbyemag.com/mar99/mental.html
As Eisenbud's book readily admits, many of Serios's thoughtographs were produced while Serios was drunk or had been drinking alcohol. According to Eisenbud, "Ted Serios exhibits a behavior pathology with many character disorders. He does not abide by the laws and customs of our society. He ignores social amenities and has been arrested many times. His psychopathic and sociopathic personality manifests itself in many other ways. He does not exhibit self-control and will blubber, wail and bang his head on the floor when things are not going his way." (Professional photographer Nile Root's own investigation into Serios quoted Eisenbud as saying this.)http://www.niler.com/es8.html
The effect has not yet been replicated, and no reasonable theory has been put forth as to how the hoax, if any, was perpetrated. Eisenbud's faith in Serios was extreme, and even as late as the 1980s, Eisenbud claimed that previously unidentified thoughtographs were images of Ganymede
Ganymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
, a moon of Jupiter. Pictures of Ganymede had only become available a year before thanks to Voyager 2
Voyager 2
The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...
. "Unfortunately," wrote Eisenbud, "I couldn't get an astronomer or optical scientist to agree."
Uri Geller
In 1995, famed psychic Uri GellerUri Geller
Uri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...
began to perform nensha by using a 35 mm camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
upon which the lens cap would be left on. He would then take pictures of his forehead, and then have the pictures developed, to which Geller claimed that the images had come directly from his mind.
Stage magician and skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
immediately criticized the event, claiming fraud on Geller's part (see below).
Criticism
Root was present at the March 1966 session where Serios claimed to have created thoughtographs and states that the small, handheld device Serios used was in many ways a miniaturized daguerreotypeDaguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
maker, creating the pictures in this manner. Furthermore, Root charges that Serios' wild manner and actions may have been a deliberate attempt to hide prestidigitation
Sleight of hand
Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain, is the set of techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....
to insert the object into the "gizmo" which would then expose the film. Root has since then given extensive details on how he believes the thoughtographs were created, as well as "digital versions" of the same.http://www.niler.com/estitle.html
Randi, based on his studies of Eisenbud's work, makes similar claims about Serios. A quote from Randi's website states:
"If Mr. Serios did not use a trick method, all the rules of physics, particularly of optics, everything developed by science over the past several centuries, must be rewritten to accommodate Eisenbud's opinion. No such revisions have been found necessary." http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/thoughtography.html
As for the Geller incidents, Randi claims that Geller is either performing a similar act as Serios, or is using already-exposed film in the camera, a charge Geller has consistently denied.
In fiction
- The Ring media franchise involves a telepathic individual projecting a curse onto a videotapeVideotapeA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
, causing any viewer of said tape to die within seven days. Mother of Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of the original novelRing (Suzuki novel)is a Japanese horror novel by Koji Suzuki, first published in 1991, and set in modern day Japan. It was the basis for a film of the same name , and two remakes: a Korean version and an American version ....
and films, is partially based on Sadako Takahashi. - Thoughtography was the subject of The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
episode "UnruheUnruhe"Unruhe" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the fourth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season, and the first episode to air on Sunday night when the show was moved from Fridays to Sundays. "Unruhe" features a man who kidnaps women and lobotomizes them...
." - "OmniOmni (magazine)OMNI was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science fact and short works of science fiction...
" published a satirical back-page article about useless psychics that included a partly successful thought photographer who produced photographs of various monuments, all partly obscured by his thumb. - In the third X-Men movie X-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
, during an early scene as Professor Charles Xavier is giving a lecture to one of his classes, a girl is taking notes via Nensha. - In Oh My Goddess!Oh My Goddess!, also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
, one of SkuldSkuld (Oh My Goddess!)is a character in the anime/manga Oh My Goddess! and is the younger sister of Belldandy. Her character design shows influences from shoujo and art nouveau.- Creation and conception :...
's most prominent powers is Nensha, which she uses to imprint words such as "stupid" or "pervert" on objects - usually KeiichiKeiichi Morisatois the major character in the popular manga Oh My Goddess! and in the anime of the same name and is voiced by Masami Kikuchi. His name is often abbreviated as "K1" .- Description :...
. - In Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, One of the Arcobalenos, Viper, uses thoughtography.
- Nensha is the main theme of Josh Hoffman's short film Thoughtography from 2010 where a Korean scientist discovers that a foreign traveller is in fact a rock.
- In the Touhou ProjectTouhou ProjectThe , also known as Toho Project or Project Shrine Maiden, is a Japanese dōjin game series focused on bullet hell shooters made by the one-man developer Team Shanghai Alice, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part...
, the tengu Hatate Himekaidou uses spirit photography in order to obtain information from newspapers and use them for her own. - In the HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
' graphic novel "Out of Town...On Business, the character Joe Macon used his ability of thoughtography to sign a large number of documents at the same time; he was later killed by SylarSylarGabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar , is one of the primary antagonists and antiheroes in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers...
and got his ability stolen.
External references
- The Jule Eisenbud Collection on Ted Serios and Thoughtographic Photography, 1931-2001, bulk 1964-1989 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Factual Basis Behind The Ring, Ringworld.com, accessed February 23, 2006
- Mind Power or Hoax? Thoughtography, accessed February 24, 2006
- Fukurai Institute of Psychology