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St. Cloud State University
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Diversions
Mertens explores the mind
By Adam Johnson
Published:
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Media Credit: Adam Masloski
Gerry Mertens, a psychology professor here at SCSU, holds an empty tear gas canister that was once shot at him. Along with being a great teacher, Mertens is also known as a great Santa around the holiday season.
It comes as little surprise that Gerry Mertens once worked as a Santa Claus in the mall. Indeed, he bears more than a slight resemblance to the good-natured saint: the jolly smile, the flowing white beard, the rotund physique and most importantly a love for life and a desire to help young students.
After 38 1/2 years teaching in the psychology department, Mertens is the longest-standing professor at SCSU and he shows no signs of quitting.
To stand inside his office is to be surrounded by history. Full of knick-knacks and personal memorabilia, the room looks terribly cluttered at first glance. It is only after talking to Mertens himself that one realizes how orderly the room is, how every nugget of nostalgia has a unique story behind it; stories that add up to a lifetime of memories.
A self-professed "maverick," Mertens has always found ways to think outside the box and find unique ways of teaching psychology to students. He has been performing magic in his classes for over 20 years as a way of showing how the human mind works.
"It was the students that got me into magic," Mertens said. "They would come up and ask 'how do they do that?' So, I started reading to find out what it was all about."
Mertens explained that magic is primarily based on simple diversionary tactics and by debunking it, students are better equipped to analyze problems objectively.
It's safe to say that Mertens is into looking at things from a different perspective. In fact, he heads up a local group called SKEPTICS that is devoted to discussing and analyzing various extraordinary claims and concepts.
However, he wasn't always interested in psychology and magic. Growing up in Wisconsin, Mertens was a rebellious youth.
"In high school, I was a trouble- maker. I probably spent more time in the principal's office than anyone else," Mertens said.
After graduating, Mertens enlisted in the military. It was there that his insatiable curiosity and sense of adventurousness led him to volunteer for experimental research. The research involved a double-blind test where the subjects were given a substance that Mertens later discovered was LSD.
"The effects (of the LSD) were pretty sensational," Mertens said, "but also quite scary."
It was this experience that sparked Mertens' interest in studying how the mind works. After reading all he could about the mind, he set out on a path that would inexorably lead to a life devoted to psychology.
When asked if he had ever taken drugs since his government-sanctioned experience, Mertens emphatically said no.
"I don't like the idea of sitting here and having you disappear on me," Mertens explained. "That isn't fun for me; it's just frightening. I like my world to be more orderly."
Still, he accredits the experiment with starting his whole career.
"Twenty years after the test, a psychologist came around to do a follow up on the test subjects," Mertens said. "When I asked him what his results were, he said that "it probably didn't seriously hurt anybody, but (because of your career decisions) you're the first person we've seen that it actually helped.'"
Though Mertens claims to have "mellowed" a bit, he's still a real maverick. Despite his long tenure as professor, he still takes an adversarial position when it comes to the administration.
"I've been in battles with the administration for as long as I can remember," Mertens said. "I think that they, on many issues, really miss addressing the problems that arise...because I don't think they treat students as adults."
At 67 years of age, and after 38 1/2 years of teaching, Mertens is proud to say he has never taken a sick day. He loves his job and has no plans to retire anytime soon.
"I work about 80 hours a week, but I really feel like I haven't worked a day in my life," Mertens said. "I always tell people 'I'm gonna die in my boots,' because this is just too much fun."
