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My life with Oliver Sacks: ‘The most unusual person I had ever known’ (2017)

105 points by benbreen 7y ago

draw_down 7y ago
It does sound unusual... my main reaction is one of sadness, to the thought of knowing about ferns rather than Michael Jackson’s music. And I quite like plants. Different strokes.
sswaner 7y ago
I miss Oliver Sacks. It is enjoyable to hear episodes of Radiolab and hear him describe his current passion, or read his candid descriptions of his illness. I have such respect for him because his unusualness was wrapped in a lack of pretension. Wouldn't we all do better by trying to emulate his focus on learning and his lack of regard for status and fame?
nobody_nowhere 7y ago
Article makes me want to have lunch with Bjork
gadders 7y ago
The thing I like about Oliver Sacks wasn't just his academic achievements - it was how strong he got [1]. A 600lb squat is pretty immense. He truly was a renaissance man. [1] https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-bodybuilder-oliver-sacks-days-on-muscle-beach/ https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-bodybuilder-olive...
- skrebbel 7y ago
  Hm not sure. The article you quote ends with: We looked at each other, our bodies half-destroyed by lifting. “What fools we were,” Dave said. I nodded and agreed.
  - gadders 7y ago
    Maybe. They definitely pushed their bodies to extremes. But then a lot of people half destroy their bodies by sitting on a sofa eating Haribo. At least they generated some useful adaptations and learnt something from inflicting voluntary hardship on themselves.
  - sharadov 7y ago
    He had his demons - for a long time he struggled with his sexuality and acceptance of it. Hence the drugs and excessive weight-lifting.
zoomablemind 7y ago
Captivating read, a rare glimpse. It's based on a personal diary, but sounds off more like an elegy. It's truly remarkable how Dr. Sacks could remain so actively writing in his final months, maintaining emotional discipline and his genius in face of impending fate. At the same time the text left a feeling of solitude, not the loneliness kind, but the one devoid of distractions, very much determined and concentrated. Perhaps this is unfair to those last 6 or so years which were marked with his opening up to love and new relationship, and which surely had a great share of joy to them. Thank you for sharing your genius, Dr. Sacks.
sharadov 7y ago
His autobiography "On the Move" is deeply personal and humbling. The guy was a neurologist, bodybuilder, crazy motorcyclist, marathon swimmer and a top-notch human being all rolled into one.
lordleft 7y ago
My take-away from Oliver Sacks memoir is the value of a historically grounded science. Sacks got a lot of grief for reading the primary sources of naturalists writing in the 19th century, but it helped him develop a phenomenal facility for science communication and exposed him to useful ideas that had lapsed in popularity.
losthobbies 7y ago
This is beautifully written. My birthday is the 28th of August. I find it very interesting that, in 2012, when I was celebrating my birthday, Oliver Sacks, Bill Hayes and Bjork were having dinner at her home in Iceland.
daltonlp 7y ago
His "Uncle Tungsten" is in my lifetime top 10 favorite books. It is ridiculously amazing.
IndySun 7y ago
Did someone say Oliver Sacks is on Radiolab? Link gratefully received! Loved On The Road, superb. Check out BBC Radio Great Lives on him. It's quite touching. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001xt7 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001xt7 Wonderful man.
dr_dshiv 7y ago
A great death story. It's good to celebrate excellent last days and moments. My father died recently and it was truly beautiful to be there and help him go. Sadness, yes, but we shouldn't fear.
ggm 7y ago
Sacks' book about his broken leg is a huge insight into the loss of identity in illness. I think many of us consider him one of the authors we'd have invited to tea, because we like him as he is (and the tea with Bjork only confirmed that to me). Other tea party guests are usually interesting but jerks, Elvis with Hitler type mashups, but Sacks, you wanted him there as a genuinely interesting but also compassionate person.
IndySun 7y ago
Talking of dinner parties with Oliver Sacks as a guest... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdv https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdv

105 points by benbreen 7y ago

It does sound unusual... my main reaction is one of sadness, to the thought of knowing about ferns rather than Michael Jackson’s music. And I quite like plants. Different strokes.

sswaner 7y ago

I miss Oliver Sacks. It is enjoyable to hear episodes of Radiolab and hear him describe his current passion, or read his candid descriptions of his illness. I have such respect for him because his unusualness was wrapped in a lack of pretension. Wouldn't we all do better by trying to emulate his focus on learning and his lack of regard for status and fame?

nobody_nowhere 7y ago

Article makes me want to have lunch with Bjork

gadders 7y ago

The thing I like about Oliver Sacks wasn't just his academic achievements - it was how strong he got [1]. A 600lb squat is pretty immense. He truly was a renaissance man. [1] https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-bodybuilder-oliver-sacks-days-on-muscle-beach/ https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-bodybuilder-olive...

skrebbel 7y ago
Hm not sure. The article you quote ends with: We looked at each other, our bodies half-destroyed by lifting. “What fools we were,” Dave said. I nodded and agreed.
- gadders 7y ago
  Maybe. They definitely pushed their bodies to extremes. But then a lot of people half destroy their bodies by sitting on a sofa eating Haribo. At least they generated some useful adaptations and learnt something from inflicting voluntary hardship on themselves.
- sharadov 7y ago
  He had his demons - for a long time he struggled with his sexuality and acceptance of it. Hence the drugs and excessive weight-lifting.

zoomablemind 7y ago

Captivating read, a rare glimpse. It's based on a personal diary, but sounds off more like an elegy. It's truly remarkable how Dr. Sacks could remain so actively writing in his final months, maintaining emotional discipline and his genius in face of impending fate. At the same time the text left a feeling of solitude, not the loneliness kind, but the one devoid of distractions, very much determined and concentrated. Perhaps this is unfair to those last 6 or so years which were marked with his opening up to love and new relationship, and which surely had a great share of joy to them. Thank you for sharing your genius, Dr. Sacks.

sharadov 7y ago

His autobiography "On the Move" is deeply personal and humbling. The guy was a neurologist, bodybuilder, crazy motorcyclist, marathon swimmer and a top-notch human being all rolled into one.

lordleft 7y ago

My take-away from Oliver Sacks memoir is the value of a historically grounded science. Sacks got a lot of grief for reading the primary sources of naturalists writing in the 19th century, but it helped him develop a phenomenal facility for science communication and exposed him to useful ideas that had lapsed in popularity.

losthobbies 7y ago

This is beautifully written. My birthday is the 28th of August. I find it very interesting that, in 2012, when I was celebrating my birthday, Oliver Sacks, Bill Hayes and Bjork were having dinner at her home in Iceland.

daltonlp 7y ago

His "Uncle Tungsten" is in my lifetime top 10 favorite books. It is ridiculously amazing.

IndySun 7y ago

Did someone say Oliver Sacks is on Radiolab? Link gratefully received! Loved On The Road, superb. Check out BBC Radio Great Lives on him. It's quite touching. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001xt7 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001xt7 Wonderful man.

dr_dshiv 7y ago

A great death story. It's good to celebrate excellent last days and moments. My father died recently and it was truly beautiful to be there and help him go. Sadness, yes, but we shouldn't fear.

ggm 7y ago

Sacks' book about his broken leg is a huge insight into the loss of identity in illness. I think many of us consider him one of the authors we'd have invited to tea, because we like him as he is (and the tea with Bjork only confirmed that to me). Other tea party guests are usually interesting but jerks, Elvis with Hitler type mashups, but Sacks, you wanted him there as a genuinely interesting but also compassionate person.

IndySun 7y ago

Talking of dinner parties with Oliver Sacks as a guest... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdv https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdv