Episode 92: Oliver Sacks

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Dec 16, 2025

Delve into the intriguing world of Oliver Sacks, a neurologist whose storytelling blurred the lines between fact and fiction. Discover the controversy surrounding his famous case studies, including a critical look at the autistic savant twins story. The discussion also reveals the ethical dilemmas in Sacks's portrayal of patients, and examines a New Yorker exposé shedding light on his journals and personal struggles. Finally, the hosts caution against the dangers of narrative embellishment in scientific discourse.

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INSIGHT

Fame Through Literary Case Studies

Oliver Sacks became the world-famous neurologist by writing vivid clinical case stories that bridged neurology and human interest.
Those stories made neurology accessible but also blurred scientific rigor with literary flair.

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INSIGHT

Readers Took Stories As Clinical Truths

Tom and Stuart recall reading Sacks as students and being captivated by his storytelling.
That early admiration explains why readers assumed his narratives were factual clinical reports.

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ANECDOTE

The Hat Story Felt Too Perfect

Sacks's chapter about the "man who mistook his wife for a hat" reads like a perfect, illustrative case of visual agnosia.
Tom felt the story was almost too neat and evocative to be pure clinical reporting.

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Overview of Oliver Sacks's fame and books

07:41 • 8min

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Early impressions and doubts about Sacks's stories

15:44 • 4min

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The autistic savant twins case questioned

19:28 • 6min

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Defences and scientific framing of Sacks's work

25:06 • 6min

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Medical humanities and earlier criticism

New Yorker exposé: access to Sacks's journals

37:20 • 4min

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Thesis: Sacks blended fact and fiction

40:52 • 4min

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Sacks's personal struggles and symbolic exography

45:02 • 4min

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Confessions of falsification in Sacks's journals

49:31 • 4min

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Patients' reactions and ethical concerns

53:56 • 2min

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Preface contradictions and reader expectations

55:40 • 4min

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Impact on teaching and the non-fiction label

59:17 • 5min

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Storytelling's corrosive effect on science

• Mentioned in 15 episodes

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

And Other Clinical Tales

Oliver Sacks

This book is a compilation of twenty-four essays divided into four sections: 'Losses', 'Excesses', 'Transports', and 'The World of the Simple'. It delves into various neurological conditions, including visual agnosia, as seen in the titular case of a man who mistakes his wife's head for a hat. The book provides a profound understanding of the human mind and its complexities, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of individuals with neurological disorders. Sacks narrates complex medical phenomena in an accessible manner, exploring aspects of brain function, memory, perception, and the intricate relationship between the physical and mental selves.

#1656

• Mentioned in 21 episodes

Awakenings

Oliver Sacks

Jonathan Davis

The book tells the extraordinary story of a group of patients who survived the great sleeping-sickness epidemic of the 1920s and were 'awakened' 40 years later by the administration of the drug L-DOPA. Dr. Sacks documents the miraculous and sometimes disastrous effects of this treatment, exploring themes of health, disease, suffering, care, and the human condition. The book also delves into the psychological and philosophical implications of these patients' experiences, highlighting the complexities of identity, personality, and the impact of their prolonged immobility on their lives.

#11163

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

An Anthropologist on Mars

Oliver Sacks

In 'An Anthropologist on Mars,' Oliver Sacks presents seven intriguing narratives of individuals with neurological conditions such as autism, Tourette's syndrome, and cerebral achromatopsia. Through these stories, Sacks highlights the remarkable adaptability and creativity of his subjects, offering insights into the human brain and its capacity to transform challenges into unique strengths. The book combines scientific exploration with compassionate storytelling, making it both informative and engaging.

#1842

• Mentioned in 20 episodes

When We Cease to Understand the World

In this book, Oliver Sacks chronicles his own journey from a traumatic injury to health after an encounter with a bull on a mountain in Norway left him with a severely damaged leg. The book explores the strange medical journey that followed, where Sacks experienced a profound sense of alienation from his leg. It is an illuminating examination of the experience of patienthood, the inner nature of illness and health, and a fascinating exploration of the physical basis of identity.

#3969

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

Musicophilia

Tales of Music and the Brain

Oliver Sacks

In 'Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain', Oliver Sacks delves into the complex and fascinating relationship between music and the human brain. The book is divided into four parts, each focusing on different themes such as the sudden onset of musicality, musical oddities like synesthesia, and the role of music in memory, movement, and emotion. Sacks examines cases of people with conditions such as musical hallucinations, amusia, and those with extraordinary musical abilities despite neurological impairments. He also discusses how music therapy can treat conditions like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and Tourette's syndrome. The book combines scientific insight with compassionate storytelling to illuminate the profound impact of music on human experience.

STOP PRESS: a beloved 20th Century populariser of psychology who wrote massively successful books has been shown to be full of crap. Actually… don’t stop press. Just put it on the pile with all the others.

This time it’s Oliver Sacks, the neurologist who wrote The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, Awakenings, and many other books. An article in The New Yorker has shown that a lot of his case studies were, well… let’s say they’re not what they seem. In this episode we discuss the new article and Oliver Sacks’s career more generally, and ask: should we have known?

The Science Fictions podcast is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. The article we discussed on today’s show is about the tragically low South Korean birth rate, and why it got that way. Find that, and so many more articles about human progress, science, and technology, at worksinprogress.co.

Show notes

* Rachel Aviv’s December 2025 New Yorker article on Oliver Sacks

* Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders letter about “questionable aspects” of the autistic savant twins story, by Makoto Yamaguchi

* Follow-up article by the same author

* Response letter by Allan Snyder

* Medical Humanities article on 10 years since Sacks’s death

* Paul McHugh’s 1995 bad review of Sacks’s work

* Science isn’t storytelling

Credits

The Science Fictions podcast is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

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