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Oliver Sacks



Oliver Sacks, MD, CBE, (1933–2015) was a British neurologist and author of case studies, particularly those relating to hallucinations and altered states. He was considered by some to be “the poet laureate of medicine.”

Oliver Sacks
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04:56

Neurological Disorders as Alternate Ways of Being

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The Mind’s Eye

In The Mind’s Eye, Oliver Sacks tells the stories of people who are able to navigate the world and communicate with others despite losing what many of us consider indispensable senses and abilities: the power of speech, the capacity to recognize faces, the sense of three-dimensional space, the...

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37:34

Dr. Oliver Sacks on Coping with Brain Injury and Illness

John Hockenberry - three-time Peabody Award winner, four-time Emmy winner, and host of NPR's The Takeaway - interviews Dr. Oliver Sacks, the best-selling author and professor of neurology at NYU School of Medicine, about the ability of the human brain to cope with injury and illness.

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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales

In his most extraordinary book, “one of the great clinical writers of the twentieth century” (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders.

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My Own Life

A month ago, I felt that I was in good health, even robust health. At 81, I still swim a mile a day. But my luck has run out—a few weeks ago I learned that I have multiple metastases in the liver.

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02:29

Out of Body Experiences and Hallucination

Dr. Oliver Sacks describes uncanny out-of-body experiences of his patients.

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On the Move: A Life

When Oliver Sacks was twelve years old, a perceptive schoolmaster wrote in his report: “Sacks will go far, if he does not go too far.” It is now abundantly clear that Sacks has never stopped going.

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How Much a Dementia Patient Needs to Know

Should a doctor replace an accustomed identity with a meaningless “reality”?

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06:49

Oliver Sacks on Manipulating the Brain

Oliver Sacks on Manipulating the Brain.

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Hallucinations

To many people, hallucinations imply madness, but in fact they are a common part of the human experience. These sensory distortions range from the shimmering zigzags of a visual migraine to powerful visions brought on by fever, injuries, drugs, sensory deprivation, exhaustion, or even grief.

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