The Peculiar Truth about Mark Twain and ‘Mental Telegraphy’
Published in
3 min readSep 27, 2022
- Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, believed in a concept he called “mental telegraphy” — but he was reluctant to write about it.
- He believed human beings from distant lands could unknowingly arrive at the same thoughts at the same relative time and maybe divinely communicate those thoughts unconsciously.
- Putting aside the metaphysical aspect of Twain’s belief, scientists have long known about the occurrence of multiple discovery.
- Here’s a modern example from 1958 (long after Twain had died):
- A low-level engineer at Texas Instruments named Jack Kilby invented the first integrated circuit, which evolved into today’s computer chip. At virtually the same time in Northern California, Robert Noyce, the founder of Fairchild Semiconductor, also invented an integrated circuit.
- The two inventors did not know one another or the existence of one another’s work. Both of their creations changed the world. The timing of their feats was deemed purely coincidental.
- Other multiple discoveries include: the invention of the crossbow, which occured in several countries at the same time; likewise the blast furnace; Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin independently conceived evolution; and Sir Isaac Newton and German…
