Volney Mathison
Encyclopedia
Volney G. Mathison was an American
chiropractor
, writer, and inventor of the E-meter
.
. She died in November 1964.
edited by Hugo Gernsback
. In 1924, he wrote the fictional book The Radiobuster: Being Some of the Adventures of Samuel Jones, Deep Sea Wireless Operator. The book is listed in American Fiction, 1901-1925: A Bibliography. Mathison's story "The Death Bottle" was published in Weird Tales in March 1925. He also wrote stories which were published under the pseudonym
of "Dex Volney". His pieces as "Dex Volney" were of the Western genre
, and set in Alaska
. According to Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years, Mathison was "a prolific author" under this pseudonym. As Dex Volney, he wrote popular stories published by Street & Smith
.
In the June 1929 issue of Amazing Stories
, Mathison's story "The Mongolian's Ray" appeared and was promoted on the cover. Forrest J. Ackerman and Brad Linaweaver write in the book Worlds of Tomorrow, "In this story, he created the fictional device that shortly after the introduction of Dianetics, morphed into reality as the E-meter employed today to supposedly reveal the personalities of individuals interested in becoming 'clears' in the Dianetic regimen." Mathison's story "Thor Olsen's Ace" was selected for inclusion in The World's Best Short Stories of 1930.
. He came up with the design for the device and subsequently built it in the 1940s. It was initially known as the "Mathison Electropsychometer". The E-meter "has a needle that swings back and forth across a scale when a patient holds on to two electrical contacts". Mathison was a chiropractor
and psychoanalyst. He used the device with his patients in order to investigate their inner problems. He then employed self-hypnosis tapes, and instructed his patients to use these in order to address their "inner" issues. The device became popular and was used among other chiropractors. John Freeman writes in Suppressed and Incredible Inventions, "Recalling my visits at the height of his career, I remember that, while his results were outstanding, he was typically fought by the Medical Profession."
Mathison was a follower of Dianetics
founded by L. Ron Hubbard
. Hubbard incorporated Mathison's device into Scientology
practices. Hubbard often called the inventor of the E-meter simply "Mathison" in his writings. According to author Paulette Cooper
, Scientologists erroneously referred to the inventor of the E-meter as "Olin Mathison". Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst write in Trick or Treatment that "The E-meter was also widely used by the Church of Scientology, so much so that many Scientologists believe that it was invented by their founder L. Ron Hubbard."
After establishing usage of the E-meter in Dianetics, Hubbard sought for Mathison to turn over patent rights of the device to him. Mathison refused to give up the patent rights over the device, wishing that it remain the "Mathison E-meter". Usage of the E-meter in Dianetics practices was subsequently stopped by Hubbard in 1954. In writing that use of the E-meter should be discontinued, Hubbard said, "Yesterday, we used an instrument called an E-Meter to register whether or not the process was still getting results so that the auditor would know how long to continue it. While the E-Meter is an interesting investigation instrument and has played its part in research, it is not today used by the auditor.... As we long ago suspected, the intervention of a gadget between the auditor and the preclear had a tendency to depersonalize the session...." Scientology engineers manufactured a similar type of E-meter device, and this began usage in the movement in 1958. The version of the E-meter developed by Joe Wallis and Don Breeding was powered by a battery and was smaller than Mathison's device. This device was called the "Hubbard electrometer", and was seen as a necessary part of the Scientology practice of "Auditing
". In 1966, Hubbard received a patent in the United States for a "Device for Measuring and Indicating Changes in Resistance of a Living Body".
Mathison never litigated the appropriation of his invention, but he felt bitter and disillusioned about Hubbard. Mathison remarked in 1964, "I decry the doings of trivial fakers, such as scientologists and the like, who glibly denounce hypnosis and then try covertly to use it in their phony systems".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
, writer, and inventor of the E-meter
E-meter
An E-meter is an electronic device used during Dianetics and Scientology auditing. The device is a variation of a Wheatstone bridge, which measures electrical resistance and skin conductance. It is formally known as the Hubbard Electrometer, for the Church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard...
.
Family
In 1935, Mathison was married to Jean Darrell, a music librarian for NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. She died in November 1964.
Writer
In 1921, Mathison wrote the fictional short story "A Phony Phone", which was published in Radio NewsRadio News
Radio News was an American monthly technology magazine published from 1919 to 1971. The magazine was started by Hugo Gernsback as a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, but it evolved to cover all the technical aspects to radio and electronics. In 1929 a bankruptcy forced the sale of Gernsback's...
edited by Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
. In 1924, he wrote the fictional book The Radiobuster: Being Some of the Adventures of Samuel Jones, Deep Sea Wireless Operator. The book is listed in American Fiction, 1901-1925: A Bibliography. Mathison's story "The Death Bottle" was published in Weird Tales in March 1925. He also wrote stories which were published under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of "Dex Volney". His pieces as "Dex Volney" were of the Western genre
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, and set in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. According to Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years, Mathison was "a prolific author" under this pseudonym. As Dex Volney, he wrote popular stories published by Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
.
In the June 1929 issue of Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, Mathison's story "The Mongolian's Ray" appeared and was promoted on the cover. Forrest J. Ackerman and Brad Linaweaver write in the book Worlds of Tomorrow, "In this story, he created the fictional device that shortly after the introduction of Dianetics, morphed into reality as the E-meter employed today to supposedly reveal the personalities of individuals interested in becoming 'clears' in the Dianetic regimen." Mathison's story "Thor Olsen's Ace" was selected for inclusion in The World's Best Short Stories of 1930.
Inventor
In 1935, Mathison was employed building short wave radios. Mathison invented a device called an electroencephaloneuromentimograph or E-meterE-meter
An E-meter is an electronic device used during Dianetics and Scientology auditing. The device is a variation of a Wheatstone bridge, which measures electrical resistance and skin conductance. It is formally known as the Hubbard Electrometer, for the Church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard...
. He came up with the design for the device and subsequently built it in the 1940s. It was initially known as the "Mathison Electropsychometer". The E-meter "has a needle that swings back and forth across a scale when a patient holds on to two electrical contacts". Mathison was a chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
and psychoanalyst. He used the device with his patients in order to investigate their inner problems. He then employed self-hypnosis tapes, and instructed his patients to use these in order to address their "inner" issues. The device became popular and was used among other chiropractors. John Freeman writes in Suppressed and Incredible Inventions, "Recalling my visits at the height of his career, I remember that, while his results were outstanding, he was typically fought by the Medical Profession."
Mathison was a follower of Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
founded by L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
. Hubbard incorporated Mathison's device into Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
practices. Hubbard often called the inventor of the E-meter simply "Mathison" in his writings. According to author Paulette Cooper
Paulette Cooper
Paulette Marcia Cooper is an American author who is best known for activism against the Church of Scientology and the harassment she suffered as a result. Cooper's books have sold close to a half a million copies.-Early life:...
, Scientologists erroneously referred to the inventor of the E-meter as "Olin Mathison". Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst write in Trick or Treatment that "The E-meter was also widely used by the Church of Scientology, so much so that many Scientologists believe that it was invented by their founder L. Ron Hubbard."
After establishing usage of the E-meter in Dianetics, Hubbard sought for Mathison to turn over patent rights of the device to him. Mathison refused to give up the patent rights over the device, wishing that it remain the "Mathison E-meter". Usage of the E-meter in Dianetics practices was subsequently stopped by Hubbard in 1954. In writing that use of the E-meter should be discontinued, Hubbard said, "Yesterday, we used an instrument called an E-Meter to register whether or not the process was still getting results so that the auditor would know how long to continue it. While the E-Meter is an interesting investigation instrument and has played its part in research, it is not today used by the auditor.... As we long ago suspected, the intervention of a gadget between the auditor and the preclear had a tendency to depersonalize the session...." Scientology engineers manufactured a similar type of E-meter device, and this began usage in the movement in 1958. The version of the E-meter developed by Joe Wallis and Don Breeding was powered by a battery and was smaller than Mathison's device. This device was called the "Hubbard electrometer", and was seen as a necessary part of the Scientology practice of "Auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
". In 1966, Hubbard received a patent in the United States for a "Device for Measuring and Indicating Changes in Resistance of a Living Body".
Mathison never litigated the appropriation of his invention, but he felt bitter and disillusioned about Hubbard. Mathison remarked in 1964, "I decry the doings of trivial fakers, such as scientologists and the like, who glibly denounce hypnosis and then try covertly to use it in their phony systems".
See also
- DianeticsDianeticsDianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
- E-meterE-meterAn E-meter is an electronic device used during Dianetics and Scientology auditing. The device is a variation of a Wheatstone bridge, which measures electrical resistance and skin conductance. It is formally known as the Hubbard Electrometer, for the Church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard...
- Galvanic Skin ResponseGalvanic skin responseSkin conductance, also known as galvanic skin response , electrodermal response , psychogalvanic reflex , skin conductance response or skin conductance level , is a method of measuring the electrical conductance of the skin, which varies with its moisture level...
- List of chiropractors
- List of inventors
Further reading
- Article from Fortnight magazine, 1953
- skepdic.com on the E-meter
- The Aberree, Vol. 8, #2, May 1961
- Early advertisements from Mathison
- List of Scientology patents, including Mathison's
- L.Ron Hubbard Jr.'s affidavit