Elmer R. Gates (1859–1923), the son of Jacob and Phoebe Goetz, was an American scientist and inventor.

Biography

Elmer R. Gates was born near

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, in 1859. Most of his education took place with private tutors. He married Phebe Edson in 1894, and they had three children. Gates's inventions include the foam

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

, an improved

electric iron A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press clothes to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in operating temperature from between to . ...

, an aseptic brewing and fermenting process, electric loom mechanisms, diamagnetic and magnetic separators for extracting gold from sand, an incandescent gas mantle furnace, the educational toy "Box and Block," and numerous other mechanical, scientific, psychological, and educational devices. At the turn of the 20th century the Elmer Gates Laboratory in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...

, was the largest private laboratory in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He died at his home in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on December 3, 1923.

Psychology

Although a prolific inventor, Gates considered himself to be a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

. He applied scientific experiment to introspection and used invention to examine the processes by which the mind discovers new knowledge. This study led him to "psychotaxis," the integrated hierarchy of sensory discriminations required to create a valid and complete

mental representation A mental representation (or cognitive representation), in philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science, is a hypothetical internal cognitive symbol that represents external reality, or else a mental process that ma ...

of a given part of the physical world. Psychotaxis is a major component of "psychurgy," Gates's art of mind-using, which he regarded as an improved scientific method. He conducted many

animal experiments Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

to ascertain the effects of refined sensory discriminations on the structure of the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

. He researched the

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

of human emotions. For two years, four times daily, he kept three series of detailed records to determine the environmental and bodily conditions under which his own mentation was most successful. The novel nature of his research caught the fancy of the popular press of his day. Misinterpretations and fabrications were common. Despite Gates's repeated clarifications and denials, the reports took on a life of their own; some persist today. Gates and his system of generating ideas are mentioned in

Napoleon Hill Oliver Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is best known for his book ''Think and Grow Rich'' (1937), which is among the best-selling self-help books of all time. Hill's works insisted th ...

's popular book ''

Think and Grow Rich ''Think and Grow Rich'' is a book written by Napoleon Hill in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. He claimed to be inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. First ...

''. A rough description of the process is outlined in the "Genius Is Developed Through The Sixth Sense" section of Chapter 11.

Footnotes

References

* Cattell, J. McK.
"'Professors' Garner and Gates" (Letter to the Editor), ''Science'', Vol.3, No.56, (January 24, 1896), p. 134.
* Gates, D.E., ''Elmer Gates and the Art of Mind-Using'', Exposition Press, (New York), 1971. * Gates, E.
''The Relations and Development of the Mind and Brain'', Theosophical Society, (New York), 1904.
* Gates, E.
"The Science of Mentation and some New General Methods of Psychologic Research", ''The Monist'', Vol.V, No. 4, (1895), pp. 574–597.
* Hill, N., '' Think and Grow Rich; Teaching, for the First Time, the famous Andrew Carnegie Formula for Money-Making, Based upon the Thirteen Proven Steps to Riches'', The Ralston Society, (Meriden), 1937. * Mills, W.
"The Science of Mentation" (Letter to the Editor), ''Science'', Vol.2, No.46, (November 15, 1895), p. 667.

External links

The collected works of Elmer R. Gates
* Wikisource: "Elmer Gates Dies After Long Illness" (Obituary ''Washington Sun'', December 4, 1923) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Elmer R. 1859 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors Scientists from Dayton, Ohio