Phrenology

This is a discredited “science” that studied the shape of a human’s skull, believing it could reveal aspects of their personality or mental makeup. There was a slight racial component, in that the skulls of different races have subtle, yet consistent, shape differences, leading some to believe these controlled personality traits.

Why I Looked It Up

I don’t have the reason in my notes, but I do remember my son mentioning it in passing once.

I had confused it with the study of the kidneys in the past, but that’s “nephrology.”