Footfalls above "we would see the tracing on the stage floor of a tremendously elongated variation of the figures 8 turned on its side … the mathematical symbol for infinity." Beckett was also indebted to the French psychologist Pierre Janet for his conception of hysterical behaviour. In his overview of Janet's work, Robert Woodworth in his "Contemporary Schools of Psychology", a work Beckett read, pays particular attention to Janet's description of the "hysterical paralysis of one arm", which Beckett incorporated, into May's posture. There are a number of analogies between "Footfalls" and Janet's work with a patient called Irène: He lists
Infinity on High inside the top five worldwide in countries including Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. "Infinity on High" has sold over two million units worldwide, with 1.4 million sales in the US as of February 2013. Five of the album's fourteen songs were released as singles, of which three charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100, led by the single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" at number two. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 12, one month after its release, for shipments of one million copies. It received generally positive