''The Mind's Eye'' is a 2010 book by

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...

. The book contains case studies of people whose ability to navigate the world visually and communicate with others have been compromised, including the author's own experience with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

of the

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

and his lifelong inability to recognise faces.

Case studies

One of the case studies concerns

Susan R. Barry Susan R. Barry is a Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience and Behavior at Mount Holyoke College and the author of two books, ''Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey into Seeing in Three Dimensions'' and ...

, nicknamed "Stereo Sue," whom Sacks wrote about in 2006. Due to

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

, she lived

without Without may refer to: * "Without" (''The X-Files''), an episode in the eighth season of ''The X-Files'' * "without", an English preposition * "Without", a film that premiered at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival * "Without", a song by Jack Savorett ...

stereoscopic vision Stereopsis () is the component of depth perception retrieved through binocular vision. Stereopsis is not the only contributor to depth perception, but it is a major one. Binocular vision happens because each eye receives a different image becaus ...

for 48 years, but became able to see stereoscopically through

vision therapy Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning disabilities, parti ...

. Another case study is of the acclaimed concert pianist

Lilian Kallir Lilian Kallir (May 6, 1931 – October 25, 2004) was a Czech-born American pianist. Born in Prague in 1931, she moved to New York in 1940, where she studied the piano under Isabelle Vengerova and Herman de Grab, and composition and theory under ...

, who suffered from

posterior cortical atrophy Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also called Benson's syndrome, is a rare form of dementia which is considered a visual variant or an atypical variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The disease causes atrophy of the posterior part of the cerebral ...

yet was surprisingly resilient despite the numerous deficits it caused; the effect on her musical abilities was particularly notable. While her memory and personality were intact, she had problems processing visual stimuli, and was no longer able to read words or music, yet for years lived an extremely active life, frequently performing entirely from memory, with no one but her husband knowing she had any problems. Another case study was about a vivacious, social woman named Pat who suffered a stroke that resulted in aphasia; a complete inability to speak or understand words. One chapter is devoted to the case of

Howard Engel Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, author of a popular series of mystery novels. Due to a small stroke, he developed alexia sine agraphia; an inability to read, while retaining the ability to write.

Reception

Bryan Appleyard Bryan Appleyard (born 24 August 1951, Manchester) is a British journalist and author. Life and work Appleyard was educated at Bolton School and King's College, Cambridge. He worked at ''The Times'' and as a freelance journalist and has written ...

, reviewing the book for ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

'', wrote: "Sacks the doctor once again dramatises the most strange and thrilling scientific and cultural issue of our time—the nature of the human mind—through the simple act of telling stories."

References

External links

*
The Mind's Eye
' at the author's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mind's Eye 2010 non-fiction books Books by Oliver Sacks Neuroscience books Alfred A. Knopf books Picador (imprint) books Books with cover art by Chip Kidd