#gustav fechner

mistimed capture (detail; 90ºcw; inv; Michigan copy at archive.org) different presentation of same, at hathitrust from Gustav Theodor Fechner, Professor Schleiden und der Mond (Leipzig, 1856)

contents, as listed at title page ( link ): Erster Theil. Streben und Erfolg — Schleiden und die Pflanzenseele — Die Teleologie — Die Natur als Symbol des Geistes. Zweiter Theil. Schleiden und der Mond — Einfluß des Mondes auf die Witterung — Einfluß des Mondes auf Erdbeben und Erdmagnetismus — Das Od — Einfluß des Mondes auf das organische Leben der Erde — Atmosphäre und Bewohnbarkeit des Mondes.

(google) English : First part. Striving and success — Schleiden and the Plant Soul — The teleology — Nature as a symbol of the spirit. Second part. Schleiden and the moon — Influence of the moon on the weather — Influence of the moon on earthquakes and terrestrial magnetism — The Od [Odic Force, wikipedia] — Influence of the moon on the organic life of the earth — Atmosphere and habitability of the moon.

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Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-87) wikipedia see also essay (by Frederick C. Beiser, 2020) at SEP (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) : link

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But that's irrelevant to what I wanted to say.

Fechner also discovered afterimages. Afterimages are what happen when you stare at the sun or a bright light for a bit and then you look somewhere else and still see a light in the center of your vision. You know those forwards you get where you look at a weird blob for 90 seconds and then you look at a blank wall or a blank screen and see Jesus or Elvis or something? That's the afterimage effect.

But here's the best part: Fechner got so caught up in his studies of afterimages that he started staring at the sun longer and longer, becoming mesmerized by the effect. He slowly caused lasting damage to his eyes and became blind, or close to it. From there he went into a downward spiral of neurosis and became an invalid for the rest of his life, suffering from depressive symptoms.