Science fiction may have only shaped the "brain ray" idea superficially. James Tilly Matthews, the first documented case of paranoid schizophrenia, complaine

Science fiction may have only shaped the "brain ray" idea superficially. James Tilly Matthews, the first documented case of paranoid schizophrenia, complained that he was tormented by a criminal gang operating an "air loom", and he died before Jules Verne was born. This delusion, manifested in some form, appears to be inherent to the condition. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tilly_Matthews http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tilly_Matthews http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_the_%22Influencing_Machine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_the_%22Influen...