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A review by dorhastings
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
4.0
I am annoyed that I didn't review this book earlier. I tend to fall behind on... nearly everything from March to June. But I have a fair recollection of this book. (And I still have the book, which helps.)
If you've read any of Dr. Sacks' other books (and there are several), you'll know what you're getting into with this one. This book is roughly half case studies and half research/informative, and it's a brilliant mixture. The case studies themselves are quite engaging. I thought it very curious that Sacks begun with patients who always hear music and are frustrated/annoyed at the inability to turn it off. Chapters are devoted to people with amusia, which means they hear music and only hear a cacophony of loud and unpleasant sounds. Some people with Parkinson's disease cannot move except to music. People who cannot talk can sing to music.
We are still in the process of learning about ourselves and how we operate. We're still learning about aging and troubleshooting particular problems. The discoveries we've made in the last several decades are amazing, particularly since so many of them seem to be by random chance. It makes me wonder about all that we still have to learn and play with.
Now, I don't find reading Sacks to be "fun", but this was well worth reading in chapter chunks. RIP Dr. Sacks.
If you've read any of Dr. Sacks' other books (and there are several), you'll know what you're getting into with this one. This book is roughly half case studies and half research/informative, and it's a brilliant mixture. The case studies themselves are quite engaging. I thought it very curious that Sacks begun with patients who always hear music and are frustrated/annoyed at the inability to turn it off. Chapters are devoted to people with amusia, which means they hear music and only hear a cacophony of loud and unpleasant sounds. Some people with Parkinson's disease cannot move except to music. People who cannot talk can sing to music.
We are still in the process of learning about ourselves and how we operate. We're still learning about aging and troubleshooting particular problems. The discoveries we've made in the last several decades are amazing, particularly since so many of them seem to be by random chance. It makes me wonder about all that we still have to learn and play with.
Now, I don't find reading Sacks to be "fun", but this was well worth reading in chapter chunks. RIP Dr. Sacks.