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

neurologist Neurology (from , "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 nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...

. 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 Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

of the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

and his lifelong inability to recognise faces.

Case studies

One of the case studies concerns Susan R. Barry, nicknamed "Stereo Sue," whom Sacks wrote about in 2006. Due to

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

, she lived without

stereoscopic vision Binocular vision is seeing with two eyes, which increases the size of the visual field. If the visual fields of the two eyes overlap, binocular depth can be seen. This allows objects to be recognized more quickly, camouflage to be detected, spa ...

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 difficulties, partic ...

. Another case study is of the acclaimed concert pianist Lilian Kallir, who suffered from posterior cortical atrophy 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, 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, 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 b ...

'', 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