Helmholtz Wundt Titchener Nafe Graham Riggs R M

Helmholtz Wundt Titchener Nafe Graham Riggs R. M. Boynton

Helmholtz Wundt Titchener Nafe Graham Riggs Foley R. M. Boynton G. M. Boynton

Sometimes I visualize myself at a testimonial dinner in my honor, where the Dudley J. Schmaltz medal (or some such thing) is about to be bestowed upon me as a testimonial to my tremendous achievements in the advancement of knowledge. The speech over, I would mumble a few words to the effect that “shucks, fellows, it was nothing”. And these words would be the BIGGEST LIE THAT I HAD EVER TOLD. Nothing? Ulcers, nervous tics, utter fatigue, mood cycles, failure to counsel and guide and inspire my students. . Nothing? Setting an example for my own children so that they, too, could lead a life on the treadmill, overworking toward this distant goal, failing to stop along the way to notice a beautiful sunset, a beautiful person, or a beautiful wife and family. Nothing? Nonsense. It would be, I think, a hollow achievement, and once made, it might be an appropriate place for a foolish life to end.

I don't recall if it was the first time I met him, but I met him memorably at Psychonomics in San Diego, years ago. That year, well before I got into the attention trade, he was doing illusory conjunctions. His planned demo involved a whole carousel of slides in those pre-ppt days. When the slide projector jammed, he could only watch from the front as a collection of well-meaning guys tried to fix things. As he said "Don't turn that carousel over", someone did and 80 slides hit the floor. Ah well, it was still good science. - Jeremy Wolfe I want to convey my deep admiration for your father, and my affection, and perhaps above all my gratitude for all I've learned from him over many years. His masterful tutorial chapter in Sidowski's 1966 Experimental Methods and Instrumentation in Psychology was my introduction to physiological optics 40 years ago--my grimy old copy is covered with notes, testifying to the many hours I spent with it. And of course Human Color Vision has taught most of us whatever we know about that uniquely wonderful field, where psychology makes contact with the deepest currents of human thought. –Jack Yellot