Seven Neurological Tales

An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales – Oliver Sacks

These essays were published in the early 1990s in magazines like The New Yorker which feature long journalism. Dr. Sacks describes strange cases of neurological problems. He investigates the history, psychology, and emotions of the patients he follows, shadowing them in the course of their everyday lives but also in extraordinary contexts like rock concerts and presentations. The paradox is that their disease, or impairment, or continuum of traits, became a piece of their identity, often benefitting their lives.

“The Case of the Colorblind Painter” tells the story of a painter who lost his ability to perceive color due to a car accident which injured the parts of the cortex that enable us to make color when we observe the world. The artist saw everything in shades of black, white, and grey. The artist reports that it took a long time for him to adjust but that he feels he can still make art in fine gradations of black, white, and grey. If nothing else, this is a story that illustrates our wonderful ability to make silk purses out of a sow’s ears.

“The Last Hippie” describes the case of Greg F. Dr. Sacks first heard of his case In 1977 when the patient  was 25 years old, living with profound memory loss. He had been heavily into LSD during the Flower Power Era but drifted in the Hare Krishna movement. The other monks thought his staring and blissed out demeanor was a sign of spiritual development but in fact Greg F. had a brain tumor that made him bland, indifferent, and incapable of conversation. He was also blind. He was unable to remember anything in detail of things that happened after 1966. He became animated when he listened to the Grateful Dead but he did not remember the next day after Sacks had taken him to a Dead concert. This story also shows the important work of music therapists.

“A Surgeon's Life” describes Dr. Carl Bennett, a Canadian general surgeon who was living with Tourette syndrome. The surgeon was able to have an outstanding career despite his tics, involuntary lunging, and testing of physical and behavioral boundaries.  However, his manifestations vanish when he is working in the OR. This story was quite astonishing, that a person could achieve so much with such a syndrome.

In “To See and Not See” Virgil is pressured by his finance to have a surgery which will restore his sight, which he lost in early childhood. He recovers his sight but he found the new sense to be deeply disconcerting because he had to learn how to relate to the world in a visual way, not the tactile, olfactory, and auditory ways he used before. Perception of distances was very hard and shadows were utterly weird for him. The emotional toll was unimaginable.

“The Landscape of His Dreams” is a biography of Franco Magnani and his fixation on his home village of Pontito in Tuscany. He seems to be able to remember down to the finest details scenes and buildings in his natal village though he was not able to visit it in many years. And when he did, boy, was he disappointed.

“Prodigies” tells about the extremely successful Stephen Wiltshire, who has lived with autism since he was about three and drawing since age five. Sacks met Wilshsire when he was but a teen, painting complex cityscapes with his photographic memory.

“An Anthropologist on Mars” is a phrase coined by Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has found social life a real trial. She was still able to become who is a respected professor and an expert designer of humane livestock facilities and a professor at Colorado State University. The title of this essay comes from a phrase Grandin uses to describe how she often feels in social interactions. Since this article she became a celebrated figure, known for her educational efforts to open up people’s minds about those who think in different ways.

An amazing book, probably Sacks at his very best in writing up case studies.