Research source

Persons living constantly in the same physical and intellectual environment are apt to present a close…

Date of account: Published 1894
Source: Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy
Reference: Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy · selected passage 19
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Persons living constantly in the same physical and intellectual environment are apt to present a close similarity in their ideas

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

Persons living constantly in the same physical and intellectual environment are apt to present a close similarity in their ideas. It would not even be _prima facie_ evidence of thought-transference, for instance, if husband and wife, asked to think of a town or of an acquaintance, should select the same name. And investigation has shown that our thoughts move in grooves which are determined for us by causes more deep-seated and more general than the accident of particular circumstances. Thus it is found that individuals will show a preference for certain figures or certain numbers over others; and that the preference for some geometrical figures tends to be tolerably constant. The American Society for Psychical Research[11] made some interesting observations on this point in 1888. Blank cards were issued to a large number of persons, with the request that the recipients would draw on the card "ten diagrams." 501 cards were returned, and the diagrams inscribed on them were carefully tabulated.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This comes from historical psychical research. Methods, witness handling and standards of evidence differ from present-day research and should be assessed from the cited passage and edition.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

The passage can support a history of claims and recurring descriptions. It does not establish a paranormal mechanism, and competing psychological, social and physical explanations remain relevant.

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