How was the 'weight of the soul' derived?
Many people have heard the discourse that 'a human soul weighs 21 grams.' Live Science, a science news site, talks about 'research on the weight of human souls' that has been handed down in various ways, such as the production of the movie '
How much does the soul weigh? | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/32327-how-much-does-the-soul-weigh.html
The theory that 'a human soul weighs 21 grams' was born by Duncan MacDougall , an American doctor who was active in the early 20th century. 'If a human has a soul, that soul should occupy space. There must be weight if it occupies space. '
In an attempt to substantiate his hypothesis, McDougall worked with a charity hospital to see tuberculosis patients for whom there was no effective treatment at the time to create a large scale for terminal tuberculosis patients and cots. McDougall wrote in a paper that he chose a tuberculosis patient for the experiment because he was so debilitated when he died that it was convenient for him to keep up with the movements of the person. ..
And on April 10, 1901, when a male patient, the first subject of McDougall, died, the memory of the scale dropped sharply by 0.75 ounces. This is the moment when the theory that 'the human soul weighs 21 grams' was born.
In the experiment, another subject lost 0.5 ounces (about 14 grams) 15 minutes after the second subject stopped breathing, and the third subject first lost 0.5 ounces, then 1 minute. Later, it was observed that it decreased by 1 ounce (about 28.3 grams) and showed a two-step change, but these records are rarely talked about.
McDougall also discarded data on a fourth female subject who died of diabetes, saying that 'the scale was not properly adjusted due to interference by opponents of our experiment,' and 0.375 ounces for the fifth. Although it was reduced (10.6 grams), the scale malfunctioned, resulting in questionable values. This data was also invalid because the sixth person died while adjusting the scale.
In addition, McDougall experimented with 15 dogs and found no weight loss. McDougall has argued that 'not all dogs definitely go to heaven.'
McDougall published the findings in 1907 in the American Medicine journal and the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, and The New York Times also featured McDougall's work. ..
However, McDougall's experiment, which had a small sample size and disparate results, was treated as questionable even at that time. McDougall himself said, 'More measurements are needed to confirm the weight of the soul,' but it was not realized due to ethical issues and the eccentricity of the experiment.
Also, when a rancher in Oregon conducted a similar experiment with 12 sheep, he found that '1-7 ounces (about 30-200 grams) gained weight and then returned a few seconds later.' In addition, a doctor named Gary Nahum tried to conduct a follow-up test with a highly accurate electromagnetic wave measuring instrument, saying that 'the soul and consciousness should be linked to information equivalent to some energy', but it failed due to lack of funds. I am.
Live Science describes the history of scientific experiments that tried to approach the essence of the soul: 'In short, the weight of the soul and whether or not it exists in the first place are not decided at all in the world of science. Therefore, this problem is Perhaps it will be left to the religious realm. '
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in Science, Posted by log1l_ks