Oliver Sacks died age 82

Today Oliver Sacks died because of caner.

I mention him here on ATS because I consider him one of the most smartest and briljant men on our planet and because he meant a lot to a lot of people. For those who are not familiar with his person or name a short introduction.

Oliver Sacks was a neurologist who explored the mysteries of the human brain. He studied people with what I consider interesting illnesses and disorders. He studied savants, people with total colourblindness, the illness sleepy sickness or encephalitis lethargica...people who had been unable to move on their own for decades which the movie Awakenings is inspired upon. And many more of these interesting cases.

The books he has writen about his explorations of the human brain are writen in a style which make it easy to read for lay people.

Thanks for your contributions and rest in peace Oliver Sacks.

a reply to: zatara

Rest in peace and joy doc.

a reply to: zatara

Weird... right before I opened ATS, I was staring blankly at one of my bookshelves, staring at "An Anthropologist On Mars" then saw this thread.

I'm just glad he lived long enough to inspire others to carry the torch. He definitely had a positive impact on our world.

Another intellectual giant gone.

The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat is a classic.... as is the rest of his work. He helped many, many people and furthered our understanding of the mind/brain.

I'm struck, again, at the loss for those of us still "here" when the universes of info held in the minds of some vanish with death.

Loss indeed.

Thanks for your service to mankind!

Sacks will leave the world having vastly deepened our understanding of the human mind, and in particular the terrible and glorious aspects of the mind in extremis. He spoke openly and evenly (if a bit shyly) about his own experiences with psychotropic drugs, including marijuana. May his own wishes for the end of his life come to pass.

Source


RIP