Headache is just one of the symptoms of a migraine. This disease is accompanied by a distortion of the perception of reality up to the complete disregard of some of its aspects. Renowned British neuropsychologist Oliver Sachs reflects on the nature of the disease, its symptoms and the basis of our perception. You involuntarily think: how do I see this world? Am I missing something extremely important?
A woman applies makeup only on the right side of her face. She gets up from the table hungry, but half the food on her plate is untouched: the woman did not see her. She can’t see anything on the left. And he has no idea that there is something there. The very idea of “left” completely fell out of her mind. This is not madness. This is a migraine. Headache is not her only sign and not the main one. This disease is accompanied by impaired perception. Some of them are noticeable, others are not: gaps in the picture of the world are difficult to recognize. “Migraine” by the famous British neuropsychologist Oliver Sacks at first glance seems to be a special work. The author in the preface addresses it primarily to the patient: “… he will know what he is suffering from, what his illness means, and will cease to be afraid of him.” But it is also interesting for those who, fortunately, are not susceptible to this disease. And not even because many great minds, including Kant and Freud, were marked by it, but Bulgakov (a doctor by profession) awarded hemicrania (this Greek word, having passed through the French language, turned into the “migraine” familiar to us) of his Pilate, in order to explain why a non-evil person doomed another to death. In addition to special questions (about symptoms and treatments), Sacks reflects on the nature of the disease, how it is related to the person’s personality, and the basics of perception. His reflections can shed new light on our own views, and sometimes make us wonder how we perceive the environment. Are we missing something that we don’t even know exists, just as that patient didn’t know there was a left side of the world?
Astrel, 476 p.