SUPERMAN COMING

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1934, Page 13

SUPERMAN COMING

MATTER OF CHEMISTRY

CONTROL OF THE BRAIN

SCIENTIST'S PREDICTION

(From "The Post's" Representative.) NEW YOKE, April 11. The corning of tho superman and the supor-race is visualised in a few generations by Professor Marston Bogert ; oi Columbia University, past-president of tho American Chemical Society, to which he delivered an address, illustrating the advances made- by orgaiac chemistry in determining tho relationship between certain chemicals and their influence on man's behaviour and personality. It was, he said, also delving more and more into tho chemical constitution of living matter and synthesising Iproducts, in which it improved vastly (Jn Nature. Tho time must come, therefore, said Professor Bogevt, when tho chemist would be able to make substances that would greatly increase the thinking powers of the brain, as well as the strength, health, and beauty of tho body, without having to wait for the hit-or-miss methods of evolution which, from the human point of view, might lead in the wrong direction.. When that time came, synthetic chemicals would not be used merely for the healing of ills and the correction of Nature's errors, but for the positive direction of tho forces^of life by the intelligence of man. Man would devise ways to develop greater intelligence by finding artificial means for utilising potentialities in his brain-power now lying dormant because Nature,had not provided tho means for working at full capacity. While many areas, of the brain had been charted, and their purposo mado known, there were still vast areas, fully half of the human brain, still as unexplored, dark, and mysterious as the wilderness of tho African or . South American jungles, said Professor Bogert. Wo were now able to synthesise drugs that had a profound eiffeet not only on. the functions of the body, for good or for evil, but also on the human personality as well. Gradually we were learning the chemical!" relationships between ■ these substances and bodily activity. Chemists would succeed some day in bringing out the latent powers of tho ' known and of tho now unknown areas of the brain. . ■ Instead of drugs producing stupor, cruelty, or violence, we would have drugs that would enhaneo alertness and intelligence, stimulate spiritual qualities, enable the body to utiliso all its latent powers, without any aftereffects, and make it possible for man to attain a greater and keener aesthetic enjoyment of his own life, with great good will towards tho rest of his fellows, "synthetic supermen," like himself. Significant steps, promising definite results in this direction, had boon made in the last two years in chemical research laboratories in' England, Germany,. Switzerland, and the United States. The results had revealed, Professor Bogert reported, that seven substances in nature, all producing different effects, some essential for life, while others were very destructive, were all derivatives of ono and the same 'substance, a chemical known as phenanthrine, tho molecule of which is composed of fourteen atoms of carbon and ten atoms of hydrogen. .. After tracing the-history and functions of these seven substances, Professor Bogert declared that they enabled chemists to prb-ve-; synthetically what are the constitutions 'of many biologically important1" organic componnds. The day seemed not far distant;, when many of these constitutions' would.bo produced in ; .the organic laboratories, and, as usually happened in such cases, man was quite likely to develop still more potent products than Nature, herself. Chemistry would not stop after learning how to combat disease and maintain health. It would proceed to find out more secrets of Nature and then improve upon her, and try to accelerate the slow processes sle haa employed in the millions of years life had been on earth.