Mesmerize Me

Franz Anton Mesmer and the Mimetics of Attraction (and Sex)

Franz Anton Mesmer

Biggie, Biggie, Biggie, can't you see?
Sometimes your words just mesmerize me. —Notorious B.I.G.
(Okay, those are not the real lyrics—but they should be. Alliteration.)

An Untold Story

Franz Anton Mesmer, a Viennese physician who practiced medicine shortly after Sir Isaac Newton, was fascinated by the corollary between the psychological ‘m…