Elmer Gates

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Elmer Gates (* 1859 near Dayton , Ohio , † 1923 in Washington, DC ) was an American scientist and inventor.

Life

Gates was born the son of the American teacher and preacher Jacob Goetz and his wife Phoebe. The family came from Germany.

Gates' inventions include the foam fire extinguisher , an improved electric iron , an aseptic brewing and fermentation process, electric loom mechanisms , diamagnetic and magnetic separators for extracting gold from sand, an annealing gas jacketed furnace, the educational toy “Box and Block” and numerous other mechanical, scientific, psychological and educational devices.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Elmer Gates Laboratory in Chevy Chase, Maryland was the largest private laboratory in the United States.

Although Gates was a prolific inventor, he considered himself a psychologist . He used scientific experiments for introspection and used inventions to study the processes by which the mind discovers new knowledge. This study led him to "psychotaxis", the hierarchy of sensory distinctions required to create a valid and complete mental representation of a particular part of the physical world. Psychotaxis is a major part of "psychurgy," Gates' art of using the mind, which he viewed as an improved scientific method.

He conducted many animal experiments to determine the effects of refined sensory discrimination on the structure of the brain. He explored the chemistry and physiology of human emotions. He kept three series of detailed records four times a day for two years to determine the environmental and physical conditions under which his own assessment was most successful.

The novelty of his research caught the imagination of the popular press of his time. Misinterpretations and fabricated reports were common. Despite Gates' repeated clarifications and rejections, the reports took on a life of their own. Some persist today.

Gates and his brainstorming system were mentioned richly in Napoleon Hill's popular book Think and Beyond .

literature

  • James McKeen Cattell : Professors' Garner and Gates "(letter to the author). In: Science. Issue 3, No. 56, Jan. 24, 1896, p. 134.
  • DE Gates: Elmer Gates and the Art of Mind-Using . Exposition Press, New York 1971, ISBN 0-682-46994-7 .
  • E. Gates: The Relations and Development of the Mind and Brain . Theosophical Society, New York 1904.
  • E. Gates: The Science of Mentation and some New General Methods of Psychologic Research. In: The Monist. Issue V, No. 4, 1895, pp. 574-597.
  • Napoleon Hill : Think and Grow Rich . The Ralston Society, Meriden 1937.
  • Thomas Mills: The Science of Mentation "(Letter to the Editor). In: Science. Issue 2, No. 46, November 15, 1895, p. 667.

Web links

Wikisource: Elmer Gates  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gates, Elmer. In: The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Volume X, 1899, p. 354. ( online as PDF )
  2. ^ Diamagnetic separation. September 26, 1899 ( google.com [accessed March 21, 2020]).
  3. ↑ Christopher Ruggiero: Guide to the Elmer Gates Papers. Archives Center, National Museum of American History, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Elmer Gates. March 14, 2011, accessed March 21, 2020 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Gates, Elmer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor
DATE OF BIRTH 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH near Dayton , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH 1923
Place of death Washington, DC