"That imperfect instrument": Galton's whistle, Bierce's damned thing, and the phenomenon of superior nonhuman sensory range.

Abstract

When the Galton whistle was introduced in the 1870s, it was the first demonstration many had encountered of the phenomenon that nonhumans sometimes exceed humans in sensory range, for example perceiving ultraviolet light and ultrasonic signals. While some empirical research had explored this possibility beforehand, this area of perceptual research progressed slowly. A horror short story by Ambrose Bierce in 1893, "The Damned Thing," used the concept of superior nonhuman sensory range as a twist ending, seemingly anticipating scientific discoveries to come or at least understanding the implications of the early findings well in advance of the field. This article analyzes Bierce's possible sources, with Bierce representing the general educated nonscientist and providing insights into the spread of this concept into public and scientific awareness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).