measures of time moved twice as fast, whilst physiological movements
and mental processes went on at the same rate as now, the days of our
years would be seven score, instead of three score years and ten, yet
we should not be any the older, or live any the longer. If on the
other hand the rate of our physiological and mental motions was
doubled and we lived exactly as many years as before, we should feel
as if we lived twice as long and were twice as old as now." This is a
suggestion for Mr. Well's "Anticipations" Is evolution leading us in
this direction or the other? Is it retarding or "quickening the
molecular arrangements of the nervous system?" Are we becoming "more
delicately balanced so that physical changes proceed more quickly as
thoughts become more comprehensive, feelings more intense, and will,
stronger." Does the time it needs to think, feel, and will become
less? And we may add are the physical and mental processes of the
intelligent brain, quicker, or slower than the unintelligent? For if
it is the sensitive quick witted organisation, which is destined to
live twice as long as it does now, how will it bear the burden of such
added years? Leaving aside inquiries into Time, and Space Sense--(and
what enormous faculty our minds must have that can supply these)--let
us go on to Mr. J. McKeen Cattell's analysis of memory--which is
perhaps the most interesting of all to the student of mind--the
analysis of memory, attention and association of ideas. Just as the
eye can only see (attend to) a certain number of vibrations, for if
the requisite amount is added to, the result is blankness, darkness,
so the mind can only attend to a certain amount of complexity--add to
the complexity and attention ceases, but, a certain degree of
complexity is necessary to produce any conscious attention at all. In
experiments with a Metronome and the ticking of a watch, it is found
the attention at certain intervals gets weaker--from 2 to 3 seconds.
The impression produced by the ticking of the watch is less distinct,