Benjamin Franklin, Scientist
Franklin’s Use of the Scientific Method in 18th-Century France
Feb 7, 2008
The Q-Ray Bracelet’s Ionizing Power
Recently the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down what could be an $87M ruling against QTInc, the marketer of the Q-Ray bracelet. The marketing company claimed that the bracelets had the ability to control electromagnetic energy and could relieve many kinds of pain. Apparently the marketing hook, if not the actual bracelet, worked as more than a million of the bracelets have been sold. The court however, was not impressed with sales figures and testimonials and instead concentrated on the medical claims made by Q-Ray’s representatives. Citing a 2002 Mayo Clinic double-blind study, the court concluded that the maker’s claims were fraudulent, having no better results than a sugar pill. The findings would have come as no surprise to Dr. Franklin who, in 1784, led a team of scientists - who have come to be known as the "Franklin Commision" - that conducted a very similar study.
Mesmerizing the Ladies of Paris
During the late 1770s Anton Mesmer, a German physician, was practicing a new medical technique in Paris. Mesmer’s method involved using magnetism to cure pain, disease and generally increase constitution. Mesmer attributed the affects of magnetism in healing to a property he referred to as “animal magnetism.” Testimonial advertising was apparently just as effective in the 18th century as it is the 21st and Mesmer developed quite a cult following. Even some French notables became followers of the magnetizer including the French noble and Revolutionary War hero Lafayette.
But with increased popularity came increased scrutiny and soon Mesmer came under fire. Doubters began writing letters to influential scientists questioning Mesmer’s methods. But, more damaging than the skeptical letters, were the rumors that Mesmer was using his techniques for something less than scientific purposes. It appears that when treating the young women of Paris, his healing technique involved sitting very close them and stroking them in such way as to elicit a quite aroused response.
Franklin Puts Claims to the Scientific Test
By the early 1780s the doubts about Mesmer’s claims as well as the rumors concerning his professional conduct had reached the court of Louis XVI. The King then ordered that a scientific commission be put together to examine the claims of Mesmer and determine their validity. The commission consisted of some the best scientific minds in Paris at the time. They included Franklin, the father of modern chemistry Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier, and noted medical doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (in an interesting twist of historical fate Lavoisier would be executed during the French Revolution by the device bearing Guillotin’s name).
The commission conducted self-experiments as well as blinded studies on both Mesmer’s followers and on random people with infirmaries. The results of these experiments indicated that Mesmer’s magnets had no more effect on the patients than that of the placebo effect of suggestion. Additionally, the commission expressed serious concerns over Mesmer’s bedside manner. Franklin, like the scientists at the Mayo Clinic, had used solid scientific methodology to uncover fraudulent medical claims. However, unlike the reserved scientists of today, Franklin was not above adding some social commentary to his conclusions. In a 1784 letter Franklin stated, “It is surprizing, how much Credulity still subsists in the World.” It leads one to wonder how surprised he would be at the Q-Ray some 220 years later.
Sources:
Chaplin, Joyce. The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius. Basic Books, NY, 2006.
Franklin, Benjamin. The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Written by Himself. Ed. John Bigelow. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, 1884.
Sachdev, Ameet. “Multimillion Judgment Upheld in Q-Ray Case,” Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2008.
Shermer, Michael. “Mesmerized by Magnetism,” Scientific American, Nov 2002, Vol. 287, Issue 5.
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