[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead ¤ milky moon ¤ • View topic - What are you reading?
I think you're right that the quote couldn't possibly be an accurate analysis of all of Sacks' work. And I also agree that he writes about some interesting and informative stuff, sometimes in a very compassionate way. I guess my issue with his work would be that he sometimes seems to dehumanize his patients in what seems (to me) to be a bit of an exploitative way. I could, of course, be totally wrong with this interpretation. He may well be trying to shed light on some relevant neurological differences seen in people. I do worry that he seems to use case studies as a touching, but scientifically not ideal replacement for more comprehensive studies. Again, though, I could be completely wrong with my thinking here! I'd love to hear different opinions on him and his work!
"Never get so attached to a poem, you forget truth that lacks lyricism"
I've not read many of the books mentioned in this thread (except 'Spot of Bother', '1984', and the Poe shorts), so it was good to see Oliver Sachs getting a mention. I really enjoyed 'The Man who mistook his Wife for a Hat' and 'An Anthropologist on Mars', and although I can see the point behind Riv's quote, I'd suggest that he deals with his patients' difficulties sensitively and often exposes talents that could easily be overlooked by someone who sees only the illness and not the person underneath. I was slightly worried, however, to read that his claim of the autistic person who could 'count on sight' - the episode adapted to become the fallen toothpicks scene in Rainman - was fabricated, or at least highly dubious. I've not read 'Musicophilia', but have been tempted.
Lately I've read some recreational maths ('Alex's Adventures in Numberland' by Alex Bellos) - and YES there is such a thing as rec-maths; another addition to my library of books about unusual sports and games ('Mark Gorman vs The Rest of the World' - which was probably more fun to read than Mr Gorman had in researching it), and Audrey Niffenegger's 'The Time Traveller's Wife', which I found less satisfying than 'Her Fearful Symmetry'. Next up is the hastily purchased 'The End of Mr. Y' (Scarlett Thomas), interspersed with snippets from 'One For Sorrow, Two For Joy', because it was written by a friend of mine, Mark Smith.
I think the fact that he treats all his case studies to a degree of anonymity (Mr S. etc) allows him to use them as informative studies rather than dealing with each one of them as personalities. I guess it's a fair criticism if you're reading the book in order to learn about the individual human reaction to these neurological conditions, but I'm personally reading it to learn about the brain, and that's it. I think he introduces the novel as if this is the way it's meant to be read.
All the same, I'm totally not shooting you down Riv, it's a really intelligent comment that I wouldn't have thought up myself for sure, and it's clearly true for some readers.
I would just like to say that I love how totally nice all the discussions on here are. I've read some other forums, and yikes! Things can turn nasty so quickly over the internet. Everyone here's so sweet!
Steve, I think you raise an excellent point in that Sacks points out talents in people with neurological differences that would otherwise potentially be overlooked. I guess it is also relevant that a lot of his books were published pre-internet, so I think that he helped inform the public about neurological conditions that they would never have noticed/understood before. I think, looking back now, his portrayals may be a bit less sensitive by today's standards, but at that time, he may have been doing people with neurological differences a favour by making their conditions more widely known.
Tom, I hadn't really thought of/remembered the fact that Sacks gives his patients nicknames. That would certainly make a difference. And I think that, for people who, like you, understand that the case studies are examinations of a single person/small group of people, his books are really valuable in explaining things about the brain itself. My concern would be that people might think that, because only one example of, say, a person with autism is given, then all people with autism must be like that example. I'm not sure if this is a totally unfounded concern; I don't know anyone (other than you guys on here) that has read any of his work...
"Never get so attached to a poem, you forget truth that lacks lyricism"