Abstract

If we define ‘Thomas prejudice' as the habit of trusting only your own sensory capacities, prof. Filippo Bottazzi was imbued by it when rumors of the wondrous psychokinetic (PK) performances of Eusapia Palladino reached his ear at the turn of last century. Aiming to find out himself, he convinced distinguished professors of the Royal University of Naples to join him in a series of sessions held with Eusapia at the Institute of Physiology he directed. The outstanding data obtained in eight such sessions was masterfully described in a book Bottazzi published one century ago (1909). The main interest of these observations regards the instrumental recording of PK movements Eusapia learned to perform. Most notably, she succeded in simultaneously pressing two electric keys, one with the natural arm, the other with her anomalous limb. These and related observations convinced Bottazzi that PK events required Eusapia to extend and operate an anomalous limb endowed with sensory and motor features comparable to those of her natural arms. Such limb was controlled by the same brain/mind that modulated her natural arms.