Robert Todd Carroll
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metoposcopy
Metoposcopy is the interpretation of facial wrinkles, especially those on the forehead,
to determine the character of a person. It is also used as a type of divination and has been used in conjunction with astrology. This pseudoscience was
invented by the great 16th century mathematician, physician, and astrologer Girolamo
Cardano (1501-1576). Legend has it that Cardano starved himself to death at the age
of seventy-five rather than live and run the risk of falsifying his horoscope and thereby
discredit his beloved astrology.
The drawing reproduced here is from Cardano's
Metoposcopia and shows the
position of the planets on the wrinkles of the forehead. Cardano's science of forehead
reading did not catch on, unlike the typhus fever of which he gave the first clinical
description.
In all, Cardano worked up about 800 facial figures, each associated with
astrological signs and qualities of temperament and character. He declared
that one could tell by the lines on her face which woman is an adulteress
and which has a hatred of any lewdness. Long, straight furrows indicate
nobility of character. He claimed to be able to tell the generous from the
trickster by their distinct lines and noted that having three curved furrows
on the forehead proves one is a dissolute simpleton. The strongest feature
of metoposcopy is that it is a non-invasive method of quickly assessing
character. Its weakest features are that it has no scientific merit,
although it can be easily verified by confirmation
bias, and it is very cumbersome to have over 800 character traits to
consider.
See also physiognomy, phrenology,
personology, and
rumpology. further reading
Ekman Paul & Erika L. Rosenberg, eds. 1997. What The Face Reveals : Basic
and Applied Studies of Spontaneous Expression Using the Facial Action Coding
System (FACS). Oxford University Press. |
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metempsychosis