Oliver Sacks is surviving cancer of the eye, ocular melanoma. In his latest book,
The Mind’s Eye, he "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." In the interview, Sacks talks about his diagnosis, the after-effects of his radiation treatment (which include hallucinations that resolve themselves into words if he "smokes a little pot"), his apprenticeships with poets W.H. Auden and Thom Gunn, and the importance of science writing in an age when the authority of science is being undermined by religious zealots. Via MeFi's own, Steve Silberman, digaman.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Sep 1, 2010 -
39 comments
A
Blog entry about a guy who melted a kilo of Iridium in New Jersey with
Oliver Sacks. There are also pictures and movies of the 200,000 eV electron beam furnace in action.
Theo Gray, co-founder of
Wolfram Research was there too (the pictures are all his). For any laymen who may have wondered in,
Iridium is not a phone company, it is a precious metal that shares an element group with the likes of Platinum and Rhodium.
posted by pxe2000
on Aug 31, 2004 -
22 comments
2003 Reith Lectures. Neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, talks about a number of fascinating neurological disorders and the insights they provide into mental functioning.
posted by srboisvert
on May 24, 2003 -
10 comments
