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Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development
Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development is an 1883 book by Francis Galton, in which he covers a variety of psychological phenomena and their subsequent measurement. In this text he also references the idea of eugenics and coined the term for the first time.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 1973
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About the author
Francis Galton
138 books65 followersSir Francis Galton, FRS was an English Victorian polymath: anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician. He was knighted in 1909.
Galton produced over 340 papers and books. He also created the statistical concept of correlation and widely promoted regression toward the mean. He was the first to apply statistical methods to the study of human differences and inheritance of intelligence, and introduced the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human communities, which he needed for genealogical and biographical works and for his anthropometric studies.
He was a pioneer in eugenics, coining the term itself and the phrase "nature versus nurture". His book Hereditary Genius (1869) was the first social scientific attempt to study genius and greatness.
As an investigator of the human mind, he founded psychometrics (the science of measuring mental faculties) and differential psychology and the lexical hypothesis of personality. He devised a method for classifying fingerprints that proved useful in forensic science. He also conducted research on the power of prayer, concluding it had none by its null effects on the longevity of those prayed for.
As the initiator of scientific meteorology, he devised the first weather map, proposed a theory of anticyclones, and was the first to establish a complete record of short-term climatic phenomena on a European scale. He also invented the Galton Whistle for testing differential hearing ability.
He was cousin of Douglas Strutt Galton and half-cousin of Charles Darwin.
Galton produced over 340 papers and books. He also created the statistical concept of correlation and widely promoted regression toward the mean. He was the first to apply statistical methods to the study of human differences and inheritance of intelligence, and introduced the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human communities, which he needed for genealogical and biographical works and for his anthropometric studies.
He was a pioneer in eugenics, coining the term itself and the phrase "nature versus nurture". His book Hereditary Genius (1869) was the first social scientific attempt to study genius and greatness.
As an investigator of the human mind, he founded psychometrics (the science of measuring mental faculties) and differential psychology and the lexical hypothesis of personality. He devised a method for classifying fingerprints that proved useful in forensic science. He also conducted research on the power of prayer, concluding it had none by its null effects on the longevity of those prayed for.
As the initiator of scientific meteorology, he devised the first weather map, proposed a theory of anticyclones, and was the first to establish a complete record of short-term climatic phenomena on a European scale. He also invented the Galton Whistle for testing differential hearing ability.
He was cousin of Douglas Strutt Galton and half-cousin of Charles Darwin.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 28, 2013
Dense writing. Prefer sections of Hereditary Genius, but perhaps this is because I'm reading with a specific intention.
May 5, 2025
A semi-scientific foray into anthropometry, ie the degree to which characteristics in humans are hereditary, and before it was debunked. Analytical results from his research are only mentioned qualitatively and the writing style is the result of his collection of lecture notes and periodical publications. A few sections describe in quite some detail the condition which is currently known as synesthesia and before it was recognized as such.
Some inadvertent humour: "men think of women on the whole to be far from successful makers of tea and coffee."
The book is for historical purposes only. Available on Project Gutenberg.
Some inadvertent humour: "men think of women on the whole to be far from successful makers of tea and coffee."
The book is for historical purposes only. Available on Project Gutenberg.
December 11, 2021
Outdated info for the most part of course but still interesting.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews