Summary of Oliver Sacks's The Mind's Eye

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 In January 1999, I received the following letter: I can’t read. I can’t read music, or anything else. In the ophthalmologist’s office, I can read the individual letters on the eye chart down to the last line. But I cannot read words, and music gives me the same problem.

#2 Lilian was the first person I had encountered who had musical alexia. She was able to read, but only slowly letter by letter. She would read a C, an A, a T, and then laboriously recognize the word cat as a whole.

#3 Lilian’s Neurologists diagnosed her with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, which is a degenerative condition that affects the visual cortex. It is not treatable in any radical sense, but she may benefit from certain strategies such as guessing words, even when she can’t read them normally.

#4 I examined Lilian, and found that she had no problem matching colors or shapes, but she showed gross problems in other areas. She was unable to recognize individual letters or numerals, and she had a more general visual agnosia.