Compass Boy

Charles Gleason Jr., 12, of Newton, Kan., who is as inquisitive as a young fox terrier, never gets lost. As soon as he opens his eyes a morning, he automatically recognizes compass points. All day long thereafter he knows exactly where he is. He is as clever and undeliberating as any bird or animal when it comes to homing.

Last week Inquisitive Charles strutted before the neighborhood boys. He had been to Dr. Harry Reginald DeSilva's psychological laboratory at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and had gone through experiments never before told behind a barn.

In the laboratory, Dr. DeSilva blind-folded Charles, turned out the lights, and repeatedly whirled him rapidly in a chair. At first, Charles pointed correctly to North, East, West, South. By & by he became dizzy. Then he began making mistakes,, big ones. Obviously his sense of direction was not infallible. The way his mind worked--and this seems the probable method of homing birds and animals--must be this: without his being conscious of the details he was able to register automatically every turn he made, every landmark he saw, every fixed sound and smell he perceived.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.