For ages, scientists, writers and inventors have contemplated and pondered the biological fact that over one-third of the human life span is taken up by sleep. What could be done, they wondered, to use the "unproductive" sleep period and impart knowledge to the sleeper when his mind is resting? Even in the days of the ancient Egyptians, priests recited the scriptures to sleeping subjects in the hope that they would retain some information after awakening. Not much came of this, although some modern writers believe that "light" sleepers can be thus influenced. Others found that during the so called "threshold sleep period" some knowledge could be so imparted which could be remembered after awakening.

According to qualified scientists, no actual work with audio or other instru mentation in this sphere was attempted before 1911. Sleep learning was first de scribed in detail in the writer's science fiction novel Ralph 124C 41+. This novel was serialized in Modern Electrics, the world's first radio magazine. The installment describing the Hypnobioscope (the learn while you sleep instrument) appeared in June 1911. (Circulation at the time was near 100,000).

Some excerpts describing the method used follow: "He (Ralph) attached a double leather head-band to his head; at each end of the band was attached a round metal disc which pressed closely on the temples. From each metal disc an insulated wire led to a small square box, the Menograph, or mind-writer.

"After a few minutes' reflection he pressed the button, and immediately a wave line, traced in ink, appeared on the narrow white fabric band.

"In the evening he worked for some hours in the laboratory, and retired at midnight. Before he fell asleep he attached to his head a double leather head band with metal temple plates, similar to the one used in connection with the Menograph.

"He then called for his faithful butler and told him to 'put on' Homer's Odyssey, for the night.

"It remained for 124C 41+ to invent the Hypnobioscope, which transmits words direct to the sleeping brain in such a manner that everything can be remembered in detail the next morning

"Peter, the butler, placed the reel containing the film in a rack and intro duced the end of the film into the Hypnobioscope. This instrument, invented by Ralph 124C 41+, transmitted the impulses of the wave line direct to the brain of the sleeping inventor, who thus was made to 'dream' the 'Odyssey.'

"All the books are read while one sleeps, Most of the studying is done while one sleeps. Some people have mastered 10 languages, which they have learned during their sleep-life."

While the above gives the barest outline of the "learn-while-you-sleep" method, the original text contains much additional information. Incidentally for the record-the 1911 Menograph accurately forecast the future electro- encephalograph. It became an actuality 17 years later, in 1928, when German physiologist Hans Berger first demonstrated his elektrenkephalograms, exactly as the writer had conceived then in 1911.

It is interesting to note that nowhere in the writer's "learn-while-you- sleep" forecast was an audio instrument ever mentioned. He always spoke of a "head-band" (attached) to his head" with "a round metal disc, which pressed closely on the temples"..."the (electrical) impulses" thus went "direct to the brain of the sleeping inventor." The writer finds it necessary to repeat these passages for emphasis, in the light of what follows.

Much later, certain enterprising individuals who had read Ralph 124C 41+ came to conclusions of their own regarding sleeplearning and used variations.

Thus an article describing how the original learn-while-you-sleep theory was first put into practice ran in the author's Radio News magazine for October 1923, under the title "Learn While You Sleep." (circulation at that time was 400,000 copies.) In this article, Chief Radioman J. N. Phinney, US Navy, relates his work with the method at the Navy Training School at Pensacola, FL, in 1922. Students were successfully taught Continental Code while they slept. A photograph in the article shows a number of sleeping men on benches. Each wore a special helmet inside of which were close-fitting earphones. Long cords connected to a code machine. Telegraphic code on records was transmitted over and over to the men during the night.

Chief Radioman Phinney reported that he had read an article on sleeplearning in the writer's magazine, Science and Invention, in the December 1921 issue. Trying to teach the telegraphic code to his men, he found that a certain percentage could not learn code. It was these men whom he selected to teach the code while they slept. Here is the summary of Phinney's lengthy report:

"Seventeen students volunteered for this experiment with the following results next day:

(1) One of the seventeen copied five words faster than he had ever been able to copy previously. (2) Four copied threes words faster and one nearly three words faster. (3) Four copied two words faster, and one nearly two words faster. (4) Three copied one word faster and one only half a word faster."

This then was the first experimental record of the audio sleep learning method, which the writer had never contemplated.

Navy man Phinney's well publicized report generated an avalanche of similar audio methods over the years. In 1932 (21 years after the publication of Ralph 124C 41+) Aldous Huxley, in his novel Brave New World, also used the audio "learn-while-you-sleep" method, of which he clamed to be the originator.

In the late 1930's, sleep learning finally went commercial in many countries. Various entrepreneurs began selling a variety of phonograph records with machines and attachments to reach languages and various other courses. The attachments even today usually consist of a telephone receiver placed under the pillow or beside the ear. This is probably the worst method imaginable because the sound is too far from the ear: the other ear or both areto too many extraneous noises: the audio method, at least for the spoken word, so far seems worthless.

Yet, since the early Thirties, the learn-while-you-sleep method has been in vestigated seriously by men of science on both sides of the Atlantic. Various institutions of learning have issued scientific papers and the US Armed Forces became very interested as well. As a result, in the early Fifties, the US Air Force commissioned one of the country's foremost research organizations to investigate the sleeplearning method in all its scientific aspects. These the well known Rand Corp. of Santa Monica, CA undertook to explore exhaustively. It is quite impractical here to list the vast amount of research performed by Rand in its professional sleep laboratories. Let us mention only two of the voluminous reports:

"Consideration for Research in a Sleep-Learning Program," by Charles W. Simon and William H. Emmons, No. P-565, Sept. 13, 1954, 69 pages. (Note: this volume lists 76 authors and their papers on sleeplearning. The present author is listed the earliest one, June 1911.)

"Responses to Material Presented during Various Levels of Sleep," by the same authors, No. RM-1442, Dec. 27, '54, 55 pages.

in their summary, Drs. Simmon and Emmons conclude:

"Within the exception of items heard and sometimes recalled when particular EEG (electroencephalograph) patterns associated with arousal occurred, the few remaining items answered correctly could be explained on the basis of reminiscence, correct guessing, and possible EEG misclassification. Data is presented to support this. Learning during real sleep is concluded to be impractical and probably impossible. The possibility of utilizing the drowsy state where material is retained is discussed."

It should be noted here that the Rand researchers investigated only audio sleeplearning. What other methods are there? There may be others in the future.

The author revealed a plausible one in his editorial, "Superception," in the April 1960 issue of RADIO-ELECTRONIC. It reports the work done at the University of California at Los Angels in which electric currents were induced in the brain, just as they are induced in regulation transformer cells. Such brain conductivity had been noted by Norwegian technicians. They "saw" bluish white flickerings whenever they were near large choke coils at their plant. If the correct current impulses and intensities can now be impressed inductively on the brain, it becomes possible to transmit radio and TV programs directly to our audio and optical nerve centers via superception, while we are awake or asleep.

Hugo Gernsback
December 1962