Reading Heads: The Strange Science of Phrenology

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Try this: Picture a horse in your mind.

Now, add a single horn on its forehead. Give it wings. Make it bright purple. Watch it soar over the Eiffel Tower.

• Isn't it amazing that your brain can create such vivid images from scratch?

For centuries, the brain's mysteries have fascinated humans. But it wasn't until a few hundred years ago that people began to study the brain's functions in detail.

One early attempt was called phrenology. This idea suggested that the shape of your skull could reveal your personality and mental abilities.

What Is Phrenology?

Phrenology was introduced by Franz Joseph Gall, a German physician, in the late 18th century. He believed the brain was made up of different areas, each responsible for specific traits or abilities.

Gall thought that if a person had a well-developed trait, the corresponding area of their brain would be larger, causing a bump on the skull. By feeling these bumps, phrenologists claimed they could determine a person's character and mental capacity.

However, as science advanced, researchers found no evidence to support these claims. The shape of your skull doesn't reflect your personality or abilities. Today, phrenology is recognized as a pseudoscience—a belief that lacks scientific proof.

Interestingly, phrenology did introduce the idea that different parts of the brain have different functions, a concept that modern neuroscience has built upon.

Head to the Got It? section to explore further.