Samuel Renshaw (1892–1981) was an American

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 explanation, interpretatio ...

and researcher whose work became famous for a short period of time during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when he taught sailors to identify enemy aircraft in a split second, using tachistoscopic training. He generally worked with fast-reading and enhancing the latent ability of the

mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...

. He believed that most people used only one-fifth of their available mind-power to process information. By using methods of flashing pages he produced students who could read as fast as 1,200 to 1,400 words per minute. Renshaw became involved in the establishment of the Midwestern Psychological Association and served as the organization's Secretary-Treasurer in 1929. For his contributions to the war effort the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

awarded him the

Navy Distinguished Public Service Award The Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, established in 1951, is an award presented by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy to civilians for specific courageous or heroic acts or exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long-term benef ...

in 1955. He wrote 23 volumes of a journal ''Visual Psychology''.

Science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

depicted the technique in several of his works, including the novel ''

Citizen of the Galaxy ''Citizen of the Galaxy'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (September, October, November, and December 1957) and published in hardcover in 1957 as one of th ...

'' (1957) and the novella ''

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

'' (1949); he mentioned Renshaw in the context of the training of Fair Witnesses in his novel ''

Stranger in a Strange Land ''Stranger in a Strange Land'' is a 1961 science fiction novel by the American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and rais ...

'' (1961), a

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

. He cited a ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' article on Renshaw's studies for responses to fan mail about the subject. This technique and equipment appeared at the Ravenswood School District (near

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

) for a short time in the 1960s. Several young students took part in the experiment, which involved film-strip readers and page-at-a-glance equipment. The "Renshaw Training System for Aircraft and Ship Recognition" is considered to have "saved untold lives during World War II".

Bibliography

References

External links

Renshaw and the Tachistoscope
by

Alexei Panshin Alexei Panshin (August 14, 1940 – August 21, 2022) was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel ''Rite of Passage (Panshin), Rite of Pas ...

, written in 1958 and revised in 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Renshaw, Samuel 20th-century American psychologists 1892 births 1981 deaths Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award