biology

James Richard Cocke

James Richard Cocke is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James Richard Cocke rather than just read about it. In short: James Richard Cocke (1863 – April 12, 1900), who had been blind since infancy, was an American physician, homeopath, and a pioneer hypnotherapist. Early life He was born in the South of the United States, and had been totally blind since he was an infant.

Key takeaways

James Richard Cocke belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James Richard Cocke to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Richard Cocke from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

James Richard Cocke (1863 – April 12, 1900), who had been blind since infancy, was an American physician, homeopath, and a pioneer hypnotherapist.

Early life He was born in the South of the United States, and had been totally blind since he was an infant. His sight had been completely destroyed when acid was accidentally applied to his eyes when he was just three weeks old. He moved to Boston around 1885. He was considered to be "highly educated"; and, despite his total blindness, "was able to go around the city at will", and "could play a piano with much skill":

Dr. James P.[sic] Cocke of Boston, though blind, is one of the most enthusiastic bicycle riders. He rides a duplicate with Mrs. Cocke.

Marriages Once he had moved to Boston, he married a Mrs. Green of Springfield, Massachusetts:

They did not live long together, and at a subsequent court trial it was proved that before getting a divorce Cocke married a Miss Townsend of Hartford, Conn. His second wife left him, and in the resulting litigation Cocke lost all his money, his standing as a physician, and came so near losing his mind that he was confined for a time in a city institution in Boston Harbor. Four months ago [viz., December 1899] he returned to the city [of Boston] and married a Miss Carlotta Harrington of Ohio … Miss Harrington, aged 23, was a medical student, and had been acting as Cocke's amanuensis. They had only been married for about seven weeks at the time of Cocke's suicide in April 1900.

Medical career Having moved to Boston around 1885, he graduated M.D. from Boston University in June 1892, "having completed the full course of study [including performing dissections], with an average percentage of 96 for the three years". He was the first blind person to do so. He was a member of the Medico-Legal Society of New York. Although he studied homeopathy for a time, he made his mark as a student of hypnotism, and as a successful hypnotherapist. He wrote an important text-book on hypnotism in 1894.

Death He was found dead by his wife on 12 April 1900, with a pistol placed in his mouth and a bullet in the back of his head. The coroner's verdict was suicide.

Works Cocke, J.R. (1893), "The Practical Application of Hypnotism in Modern Medicine", The Arena, Vol.9, No.1, (December 1893), pp. 73–80. Cocke, J.R. (1894a), Hypnotism: How it is Done; Its Uses and Dangers, Arena Publishing Co., (Boston), 1894. Cocke, J.R. (1894b), "The Power of the Mind as a Remedial Agent in the Cure of Disease", The Arena, Vol.9, No.6, (May 1894), pp. 746–757. Cocke, J.R. (1894c), "The Value of Hypnotism as a Means of Surgical Anæsthesia", The Arena, Vol.10, No.58, (August 1894), pp. 289-296. Cocke, J.R. (1895), "Methods of Inducing Hypnotism", Current Literature, Vol.17, No.5, (May 1895), pp. 443–444. Cocke, J.R. (1896), Blind Leaders of the Blind: The Romance of a Blind Lawyer, Lee and Shepard, (Boston), 1896.

Footnotes

References Anon, "A Blind Graduate in Medicine; Wonderful Record of Dr. Cocke, of Boston University School", The Washington Post, No.5164, (12 June 1892), p. 16, col.B. Anon, "Blind Doctor Makes an X Ray Test", The Chicago Tribune, Vol.55, No.335, (30 November 1896), p. 7, col.F. Anon, "Blind Doctor's Death ", The New York Times, Vol.49, No.15682, (13 April 1900), p. 3, col.D. Anon, "Dr. Cocke Unknown at Russian Embassy", The New York Times, Vol.49, No.15684, (15 April 1900), p. 5, col.B. Anon, "Dr. Cocke's Case Probably Suicidal", The New York Times, Vol.49, No.15683, (14 April 1900), p. 5, col.E. Anon, "Hypnotism Put on Trial: Dr. James Cocke of Boston was the Operator", The New York Times, Vol.48, No.14210, (5 March 1897), p. 4, col.G. Anon, "Personal", The Chicago Tribune, Vol.55, No.223, (6 August 1896), p. 6, col.F. Anon, "Personal", The Chicago Tribune, Vol.51, No.160, (8 June 1892), p. 12, col.F. Anon, "Remarkable Blind Man Dead", The Chicago Tribune, Vol.59, No.103, (13 April 1900), p. 1. Anon, "Wonderful X Ray Tests", The Chicago Tribune, Vol.56, No.2, (2 January 1897), p. 14, col.C.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Richard Cocke

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Richard Cocke claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James Richard Cocke before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James Richard Cocke ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James Richard Cocke

In research: James Richard Cocke appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James Richard Cocke in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James Richard Cocke is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1863 births, 1900 deaths, 1900 suicides, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Richard Cocke outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James Richard Cocke in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Richard Cocke means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
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Frequently asked questions

What is James Richard Cocke in simple terms?

James Richard Cocke (1863 – April 12, 1900), who had been blind since infancy, was an American physician, homeopath, and a pioneer hypnotherapist. Early life He was born in the South of the United States, and had been totally blind since he was an infant.

Why does James Richard Cocke matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James Richard Cocke?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James Richard Cocke.