spiral
- spiral
A term introduced in or shortly before 1928 by the German-American biological psychologist and philosopher Heinrich Klüver (1897-1979) to denote one of the four *form-constants of * geometric visual hallucinations which may occur during the initial stages of mescaline intoxication. Klüver uses the term form constant to denote certain visual forms and elements that "appear in almost all mescal visions". According to him "many 'atypical' visions are upon close inspection nothing but variations of these form-constants." The examples of the spiral given by Klüver, based on the observations of different test persons, are rendered by him as follows. " 'Upon rhythmical whistling there appears a brown spiral, a wide band, revolving madly around its vertical axis. The band spiral opens and closes as a concertina according to the rhythm of the whistling whereby bright light falls through the intermediate spaces'; 'a procession, coming from the lower right, moved slowly in spiral turns to the upper left'; 'wire-like thin black lines in curves and spirals drawn out'." Klüver names the remaining three form-constants * chessboard design, * cobweb figure, and * tunnel.
References
Klüver, H. (1966). Mescal and mechanisms of hallucinations. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Dictionary of Hallucinations.
J.D. Blom.
2010.
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Look at other dictionaries:
spiral — spiral, ale, aux [ spiral, o ] adj. • 1534; lat. scolast. spiralis, de spira → spire ♦ Rare (sauf avec quelques n.) Qui a la forme d une courbe tournant autour d un pôle dont elle s éloigne. Courbe, ligne spirale. Ressort spiral : ressort plat… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Spiral — Spi ral, a. [Cf. F. spiral. See {Spire} a winding line.] 1. Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring. [1913 Webster] 2. Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
spiral — [spī′rəl] adj. [ML spiralis < L spira, a coil < Gr speira: see SPIRE1] 1. circling around a central point in a flat, two dimensional curve that constantly increases (or decreases) in size 2. circling around a central axis in a conical or… … English World dictionary
spiral — SPIRÁL, Ă, spirali, e, s.f., adj. 1. s.f. Curbă plană deschisă care se roteşte (sau se înfăşoară) în jurul unui punct fix; p. ext. obiect care are această formă. 2. adj. Care are formă de spirală (1); spiralat. – Din fr. spiral. Trimis de RACAI,… … Dicționar Român
Spiral — Spi ral, n. [Cf. F. spirale. See {Spiral}, a.] 1. (Geom.) A plane curve, not re[ e]ntrant, described by a point, called the generatrix, moving along a straight line according to a mathematical law, while the line is revolving about a fixed point… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Spiral — студийный альбом Уэхары Хироми Дата выпуска 16 Января 2006 Жанры Джаз, джаз фьюжн Длительность 73:09 Лейбл … Википедия
spiral — spiral, ale (spi ral, ra l ) adj. 1° Qui a la figure d une spire ou d une spirale. Ligne spirale. Ressorts spiraux. 2° S. m. Terme d horlogerie. Le spiral d une montre, le petit ressort sous l action duquel oscille le balancier qui règle l… … Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré
spiral — SPIRAL, [spir]ale. adj. Terme de Geometrie, Qui se dit d une ligne qui va tousjours en tournant, & en s esloignant de son premier point. Ligne spirale. ressort spiral. monstre à ressort spiral … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
spiral — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ winding in a continuous curve around a central point or axis. ► NOUN 1) a spiral curve, shape, or pattern. 2) a progressive rise or fall of prices, wages, etc., each responding to an upward or downward stimulus provided by a… … English terms dictionary
Spiral — bezeichnet eine Spirale, eine Manga Serie und eine darauf basierende Anime Serie, siehe Spiral – Suiri no Kizuna, ein Projekt der Sowjetunion, 1965 bis 1976, zur Entwicklung eines wiederverwendbaren Raumfahrzeuges, siehe MiG 105 … Deutsch Wikipedia
spiral — [adj] curling, winding circling, circular, circumvoluted, cochlear, coiled, corkscrew, curled, helical, helicoid, radial, rolled, screwshaped, scrolled, tendrillar, tortile, voluted, whorled, wound; concept 486 Ant. straight, uncurling, unwinding … New thesaurus
