The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the

The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing

The captivating, untold story of Hermann Rorschach and his famous inkblot test

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYÂ NPR â€¢Â New York PostÂ â€¢Â Sunday TimesÂ (UK)Â â€¢Â Irish Independent

In 1917, working alone in a remote Swiss asylum, psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devised an experiment to probe the human mind: a set of ten carefully designed inkblots. For years he had grappled with the theories of Freud and Jung while also absorbing the aesthetic movements of the day, from Futurism to Dadaism. A visual artist himself, Rorschach had come to believe that who we are is less a matter of what we say, as Freud thought, than what we see.

After Rorschachâ€™s early death, his test quickly made its way to America, where it took on a life of its own. Co-opted by the military after Pearl Harbor, it was a fixture at the Nuremberg trials and in the jungles of Vietnam. It became an advertising staple, a clichÃ© in Hollywood and journalism, and an inspiration to everyone from Andy Warhol to Jay Z. The test was also given to millions of defendants, job applicants, parents in custody battles, and people suffering from mental illness or simply trying to understand themselves better. And it is still used today.

In this first-ever biography of Rorschach, Damion Searls draws on unpublished letters and diaries and a cache of previously unknown interviews with Rorschachâ€™s family, friends, and colleagues to tell the unlikely story of the testâ€™s creation, its controversial reinvention, and its remarkable enduranceâ€”and what it all reveals about the power of perception. Elegant and original, The Inkblots shines a light on the twentieth centuryâ€™s most visionary synthesis of art and science.

Praise for The Inkblots

â€œImpressively thorough . . . part biography of Herman Rorschach, psychoanalytic super sleuth, and part chronicle of the testâ€™s afterlife in clinical practice and the popular imagination . . . Searls is a nuanced and scholarly writer . . . genuinely fascinating.â€â€”TheÂ New York Times Book Review

â€œA marvelous book about how one man and his enigmatic test came to shape our collective imagination. The Rorschach test is a great subject andÂ The InkblotsÂ is worthy of it:Â beguiling, fascinating, and full of new discoveriesÂ every time you look.â€Â â€”David Grann, author ofÂ The Lost City of Z
Country USA
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2017-02-21
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2017-02-21
Format	Kindle eBook

The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing

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