As you all know, I’ve been reading The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, a book about neurological disorders. Last time I updated, I had read twelve of the stories; now I have finished the book and read all twenty-four. My favorite three were The Twins, A Passage to India, and On the Level. Each of these chapters taught me something different both in life and in the context of this book. The Twins told the story of two twin brothers who were autistic and could think of prime numbers- perhaps even communicate with them- quickly. This was interesting to me because the capacity of their minds to find these numbers, “see” them, is something I have thought about but have never been able to fully comprehend. A Passage to India was one of the shorter chapters in the collection and it described how an Indian girl would have seizures where she would see her home in India. It was profoundly interesting to read about seizures where the afflicted person is conscious and has visions of the past. On the Level tells of a man suffering from Parkinson’s who tilted twenty degrees when he walked. I never knew this could be a problem and so it caught my interest. They fixed his situation by having levels attached to his glasses so he could see when he was standing straight. The Twins taught me that many different forms of communication can be effective, A Passage to India taught me to appreciate my family, and On the Level reminds me to check myself and make corrections when needed.
While reading this book it came to my attention that these ‘clinical tales’ as they are called, cannot be common. If they were, they would not be written about in this book; a book about strange functions of the brain and how they work. However, some must be more common than others; I’m sure that phantom limbs are fairly common amongst prosthetic users and Sacks describes a few other scenarios where stories overlap. I still must ask the question; How rare are these situations? How do they differ from each other in rarity and demographic? Another, more unrelated question. How do the scientific names in this book relate to one another? I understand that they are all written to help describe what the affliction is, but I don’t recognize every connection wherein the names of seemingly unrelated cases can sound similar or vice versa. Reading this book helped me reinforce the idea that different people do things different ways. The Disembodied Lady and On the Level are two examples where they had to find different ways to do normal tasks that most of us take for granted. Recognizing that not everyone has the same ability level and making sure to adjust to that person’s needs is an important step in helping to advance our society and have better care for those who have any range of differences, including the neurological disorders discussed in this book.
0 Comments
For my next read, I picked up Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. It’s a collection of twenty-four chapters, each centered around a different neurological disorder. I’ve so far read twelve of the stories and found many interesting things. One of my favorite chapters was Phantoms, which talks of missing limbs. I’ve read other books on the subject before, so it was more familiar to me than some of the more bizarre chapters, like On The Level, in which a man with Parkinson’s tilted while he walked. They created a contraption for him to fit with his glasses so he could see if he was standing straight. The parts I’ve read so far have been divided into two parts: losses and excesses. Now, I don’t know anyone with these particular disorders, as most of them are extremely rare (hence, why they are written about) but I do understand when something is missing or has an overabundance. I’m excited to further explore the stories in this book; I’ve got twelve new ones to go! If you happen to be reading along with me, let me know what your favorite story is out of the twenty-four; I’d love to hear it!
|
AuthorMy name is Katie. I love to read, write, and explore. I have a cat, dog, and one fish and am proud of my left-handedness. I love adventure and am always open to new things. ArchivesCategories |