E-meter, originally the electropsychometer, is an electronic device for displaying the electrodermal activity of a human being.
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17 Facts About E-meter
2.
The efficacy and legitimacy of Scientology's use of the E-meter has been subject to extensive litigation and in accordance with a federal court order, the Church of Scientology publishes disclaimers declaring that the E-meter "by itself does nothing, " is incapable of improving health, and is used specifically for spiritual purposes.
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3.
E-meter patented his device in 1954 as an electropsychometer or E-meter, and it came to be known as the "Mathison Electropsychometer".
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4.
In Mathison's words, the E-meter "has a needle that swings back and forth across a scale when a patient holds on to two electrical contacts".
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5.
Mathison recorded in his book, Electropsychometry, that the idea of the E-meter came to him in 1950 while listening to a lecture by L Ron Hubbard:.
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6.
E-meter was adopted for use in Dianetics and Scientology when Mathison collaborated with Hubbard in 1951.
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7.
Some sources say the E-meter was "developed by Volney Mathison following Hubbard's designs", or that Hubbard invented it.
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9.
The E-meter became "the principal material artifact" of Dianetics and Scientology from the 1960s onward.
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10.
The "Hubbard Mark II" E-meter was christened in 1960 and the Hubbard Mark III shortly after.
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11.
Corydon wrote that the Hubbard E-meter was actually developed by Scientologists Don Breeding and Joe Wallis, though the patent does not list other developers.
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12.
Church claims that the E-meter can be used to assess the emotion charge of single words, whole sentences, and questions, as well as indicating the general state of the subject when the operator is not speaking.
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13.
One of E-meter's primary components is a Wheatstone bridge, an electrical circuit configuration invented in 1833 that enables the detection of very small differences between two electrical impedances.
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14.
The E-meter is constructed so that one resistance is the subject's body and the other is a rheostat controlled by the operator.
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15.
One account tells about Hubbard using the E-meter to determine whether or not fruits can experience pain, as in his 1968 assertion that tomatoes "scream when sliced".
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16.
E-meter required the church to pay the salaries and travel expenses of FDA agents who might, from time to time, inspect for compliance with the court's order.
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17.
Hubbard credited Mathison with recreating the E-meter and bringing him the first model for use in Dianetics.
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