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Title: Analyzing Character

Author: Katherine M. H. Blackford and Arthur Newcomb

Release Date: June 18, 2004 [eBook #12649]

Language: English

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Katherine M.H. Blackford ANALYZING CHARACTER THE NEW SCIENCE OF JUDGING MEN; MISFITS IN BUSINESS, THE HOME AND SOCIAL LIFE BY KATHERINE M.H. BLACKFORD, M.D.
AND
ARTHUR NEWCOMB 1922 CONTENTS   PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE--ANALYZING CHARACTER IN VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE CHAP.   I CAUSES OF MISFITS 17 II ELEMENTS OF FITNESS 39 III CLASSES OF MISFITS 73 IV THE PHYSICALLY FRAIL 111 V THE FAT MAN 137 VI THE MAN OF BONE AND MUSCLE 157 VII SLAVES OF MACHINERY 169 VIII THE IMPRACTICAL MAN 191 IX HUNGRY FOR FAME 223 X WASTE OF TALENT IN THE PROFESSIONS 241 XI WOMEN'S WORK 261 XII SPECIAL FORMS OF UNFITNESS 267 PART TWO--ANALYZING CHARACTER IN SELECTION OF EMPLOYEES I THE COST OF UNSCIENTIFIC SELECTION 291 II THE SELECTION OF EXECUTIVES 303 III THE REMEDY 331 IV RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC EMPLOYMENT 345 V IDEAL EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS 359 PART THREE--ANALYZING CHARACTER IN PERSUASION I THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION 367 II SECURING FAVORABLE ATTENTION 383 III AROUSING INTEREST AND CREATING DESIRE 391 IV INDUCING DECISION AND ACTION 401 V EFFICIENT AND SATISFACTORY SERVICE 413 PART FOUR--PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF CHARACTER ANALYSIS I THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF CHARACTER ANALYSIS 429 II HOW TO LEARN AND APPLY THE SCIENCE OF CHARACTER ANALYSIS 443 III USES OF CHARACTER ANALYSIS 453 APPENDIX REQUIREMENTS OF THE PRINCIPAL VOCATIONS 465 ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. Page    Fig. Page 1. Jacob A Riis 53 35. Puccini, Composer 231 2. Dr. Booker T. Washington 54 36. John S. Sargent, R.A. 232 3. James H. Collins 55 37. Pietro Mascagni 233 4. H.G. Wells 56 38. Richard Burton 234 5. Henry Ford 57 39. Mendelssohn, Composer 235 6. Hugo de Vries 58 40. Massenet, Composer 236 7. Dr. Henry Van Dyke 59 41. Hon. Elihu Root (Front) 253 8. Dr. Beverly T. Galloway 60 42. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 254 9. Richard Mansfield 125 43. Rufus Isaacs, Baron Reading 255 10. Hon. A.L. Cutting (front) 126 44. Hon. Elihu Root (Profile) 256 11. Hon. A.L. Cutting (profile) 127 45. Harland B. Howe 257 12. Chief Justice Melville Fuller 128 46. Justice Horace H. Lurton 258 13. Frank A. Vanderlip 129 47. Prof. William H. Burr 259 14. Hon. Joseph P. Folk 130 48. Hon. John Wesley Gaines 260 15. Hon. Nelson W. Aldrich 131 49. Hon. Joseph Walker 277 16. Well-Developed Base of Brain 132 50. Hon. Lon V. Stephens 278 17. Beaumont, Aviator 149 51. Hon. Oscar Underwood 279 18. Lincoln Beachey 150 52. Hon. Victor Murdock 280 19. Col. George W. Goethals 151 53. Robert C. Ogden 281 20. Field Marshal von Hindenberg 152 54. Prof. P.G. Holden 282 21. Rear Admiral Frank E. Beatty 153 55. W. Nelson Edelsten 283 22. William Lloyd Garrison 154 56. Dr. Beverly T. Galloway (Profile) 284 23. Samuel Rea 155 57. Conical Hands 317 24. Lon Wescott Beck 156 58. Hands of Mrs. Flora E. Durand 317 25. "Sydney Williams" (front) 197 59. Hands of Financier and Administrator 318 26. "Sydney Williams" (profile) 198 60. Hands of Engineer and Expert Mechanic 318 27. Prof. Adolph von Menzel 199 61. Long Fingers 318 28. Edgar Allan Poe 200 62. Narrow Head 319 29. Samuel Taylor Coleridge 201 63. Sir Henry Fowler 320 30. Thomas De Quincy 202 64. Reginald D. Barry 321 31. O. Henry at 30 203 65. Large Dome Above Temples 322 32. Edwin Reynolds 204 66. Dr. V. Stefansson 323 33. John Masefield 229 67. Square Head 324 34. Edward De Reszke 230 68. Round Head 324 PREFACE

This work is a treatise upon the fascinating and valuable art of analyzing human character. It makes no attempt to teach, as such, the technical principles upon which this art is based. It is, rather, an attempt to familiarize the reader with the most important of these by the inductive method—by means of incidents and descriptions from our records and from the biographies of well-known men. Some effort has been made, also, to give the reader the benefit of the authors' experience and observation in vocational counsel, employment, and salesmanship.

In the preparation of this work, we have drawn copiously from our records of individuals and firms. It should be borne in mind by the reader that, for obvious reasons—except in one or two cases—the details of these narratives have been so altered as to disguise the personalities and enterprises involved, the essentials being maintained true to the record.

New York City, January 3, 1916. THE AUTHORS.

INTRODUCTION

"There is one name," says Elbert Hubbard, "that stands out in history like a beacon light after all these twenty-five hundred years have passed, just because the man had the sublime genius of discovering ability. That man is Pericles. Pericles made Athens and to-day the very dust of the street of Athens is being sifted and searched for relics and remnants of the things made by people who were captained by men of ability who were discovered by Pericles."

The remark of Andrew Carnegie that he won his success because he had the knack of picking the right men has become a classic in current speech. Augustus Caesar built up and extended the power of the Roman Empire because he knew men. The careers of Charlemagne, Napoleon, Disraeli, Washington, Lincoln, and all the empire builders and empire saviours hold their places in history because these men knew how to recognize, how to select, and how to develop to the highest degree the abilities of their co-workers. The great editors, Greeley, Dana, James Gordon Bennett, McClure, Gilder and Curtis, attained their high station in the world of letters largely because of their ability to unearth men of genius. Morgan, Rockefeller, Theodore N. Vail, James J. Hill, and other builders of industrial and commercial empires laid strong their foundations by almost infallible wisdom in the selection of lieutenants. Even in the world of sports the names of Connie Mack, McGraw, Chance, Moran, Carrigan and Stallings shine chiefly because of their keen judgment of human nature.

If the glory that was Greece shone forth because Pericles kindled its flame, then Pericles in any time and amongst any people would probably have ushered in a Golden Age. Had Carnegie lived in any other day and sought his industrial giants, he would no doubt have found them. If a supreme judge of latent talent and inspirer of high achievement can thus always find material ready to his hand, it follows that humanity is rich in undiscovered genius—that, in the race, there are, unguessed and undeveloped, possibilities for a millennium of Golden Ages. Psychologists tell us that only a very small percentage of the real ability and energy of the average man is ever developed or used.

"Poor man!" says a reviewer, speaking of a contemporary, "he never discovered his discoverer." The man who waits for his Pericles usually waits in vain. There has been only one Pericles in all history. Great geniuses in the discovery, development, and management of men are rare. Most men never meet them. And yet every man can discover his discoverer.

Self-knowledge is the first step to self-development. Through an understanding of his own aptitudes and talents one may find fullest expression for the highest possibilities of his intellect and spirit. A man who thus knows himself needs no other discoverer. The key to self-knowledge is intelligent, scientific self-study.

In the year 1792, Mahmoud Effendi, a Turkish archer, hit a mark with an arrow at 482 yards. His bow, arrows, thumbring and groove are still on exhibition in London as proof of the feat. His prowess lay in his native gift, trained by years of practice, to guess the power of his bow, the weight and balance of his arrow, and the range and direction of his target; also, the sweep of the wind. This he gained by observations repeated until the information gathered from them amounted to almost exact knowledge. Thousands of gunners to-day hit a mark miles away, with a 16-inch gun, not because they are good guessers, but because, by means of science, they determine accurately all of the factors entering into the flight of their projectiles. Pericles judged men by a shrewd guess—the kind of guess called intuition. But such intuition is only a native gift of keen observation, backed by good judgment, and trained by shrewd study of large numbers of men until it becomes instinctively accurate.

In modern times we are learning not to depend upon mere guesses—no matter how shrewd. Mahmoud Effendi could not pass on to others the art he had acquired. But the science of gunnery can be taught to any man of average intelligence and natural aptitudes. Pericles left posterity not one hint about how to judge men—how to recognize ability. Humanity needs a scientific method of judging men, so that any man of intelligence can discover genius—or just native ability—in himself and others.

As the result of our ignorance, great possibilities lie undeveloped in nearly all men. Self-expression is smothered in uncongenial toil. Parents and teachers, groping in the dark, have long been training natural-born artists to become mechanics, natural-born business men to become musicians, and boys and girls with great aptitudes for agriculture and horticulture to become college professors, lawyers, and doctors. Splendid human talent, amounting in some cases to positive genius, is worse than wasted as a result.

In our experience, covering years of careful investigation and the examination of many thousands of individuals, we have seen so much of the tragedy of the misfit that it seems at times almost universal. The records of one thousand persons taken at random from our files show that 763, or 76.3 per cent, felt that they were in the wrong vocations. Of these 414 were thirty-five years old or older. Most of these, when questioned as to why they had entered upon vocations for which they had so little natural aptitude, stated that they had either drifted along lines of least resistance or had been badly advised by parents, teachers, or employers.

We knew a wealthy father, deaf to all pleas from his children, who spent thousands of dollars upon what he thought was a musical education for his daughter, including several years in Europe. The young lady could not become a musician. The aptitude for music was not in her. But she was unusually talented in mathematics and appreciation of financial values, and could have made a marked success had she been permitted to gratify her constantly reiterated desire for a commercial career. This same father, with the same obstinacy, insisted that his son go into business. The young man was so passionately determined to make a career of music that he was a complete failure in business and finally embezzled several thousand dollars from his employer in the hope of making his escape to Europe and securing a musical education. Here were two human lives of marked talent as completely ruined and wasted as a well-intentioned but ignorant and obstinate parent could accomplish that end.

A few years ago a young man was brought to us by his friends for advice. He had been educated for the law and then inherited from his father a considerable sum of money. Having no taste for the law and a repugnance for anything like office work, he had never even attempted to begin practice. Having nothing to do, he was becoming more and more dissipated, and when we saw him first had lost confidence in