Hi,

In 1800s cephalic index was proposed but there was a strong resistance against this definition.

You can find detailed information in these books

The Measure of MeritTalents, Intelligence, and Inequality in the French and American Republics, 1750-1940

Psychology in Social Context: Issues and Debates (for information between species)

Hello Carlos;

You might look up the term Phrenology. The notion dates from the last half of the 19th century. The idea was that the shape of the skull, its bumps and ridges were associated with personality and intelligence. It turned out to be a classic example of pseudoscience and was abandoned early in the 20th century.

You will find many sources but be skeptical and thoughtful about the sources.

Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers

The idea was first popularized back in 1825 by Johann Gaspar Spurzheim in his book "Phrenology, or, The Doctrine of the Mind: And of the Relations Between Its Manifestations and the Body".

He went on about various cranial features that could predict qualities and aptitudes such as intelligence, musicality, cautiousness, benevolence, conscientiousness, hopefulness, and something he called "Marvellousness".

You can see what motivated him (racism, justification of slavery, etc.) in his statement that cranial morphology explains why "races of negroes make five the extent of their enumeration, that is, they count only as far as five...".

There is no modern, peer reviewed scientific study that supports phrenology, and moreover, intracortical brain recordings show that even distinct brain regions proportions do not allow for prediction of aptitudes within mammalian taxa, as the brain must synchronize regional activity to support "intelligence" and most complex behaviors (i.e., recent work by Womelsdorf, or see review by Knight 2007 Science 316).

So, the idea is pure pseudoscience and has been completely debunked - although too late to stop the U.S. court system in the early 20th century from commonly employing it to convict criminals on the basis of their head shape, and of course too late to stop the Nazi's from using their own version to justify their state policy of genocide.

I think that the intelligence of the sensors in the brain differ

Cesare Lombroso, the Italian criminologist of the 19th century, popularised this idea and it gained immense traction. It has since resurfaced in the work of the modern British criminologist and psychiatrist Adrian Raines who holds that there are internal differences in the brains of psychopaths compared to what he believes are ordinary people.

Raines' ideas bear some similarity to Lombroso's, although the latter's inclined towards race. Lombroso believed that criminals were born and that some human groups were more inclined to criminal behaviour than others. His theory, long debunked, is called Criminal Positivism. Raines has backed up some of Lombroso's ideas by concluding that all prisoners within jails are psychopaths, but appears to mean all lower class criminals. White collar criminals do not necessarily meet this criterion, nor do feral politicians and business men.

Raines holds that anyone who exhibits a particular internal skull abberation, a slight difference in shape, is a psychpath although it is likely that millions upon millions do. Presumably, they should all be jailed forthwith-well, if they belong to the lower classes. Terrifyingly, his ideas are being seriously listened to confirming that bad ideas do not go away but return in different forms.

Hello Carlos; Mr. Wilkin describes one more reincarnation of that old pseudoscience. Look for refereed journals that publish Raines' stuff. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers