Oliver Sacks - Musicophilia

Oliver Sacks is a well known medical science writer specializing in the brain. He is best known for the "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat" about catastrophic brain disease. In this new book, he focuses on music and the brain. He believes that humans are uniquely equipped by evolution to understand and appreciate music. His books are filled with interesting anecodotes and examples from the lives of individuals and are a pleasure to read.

I was particularly drawn to this book because I am one of a significant number of people who cannot appreciate music. He estimates 1 in 300.

He refers to these people as 'amusical'. It can be the result of genetics (my sisters are amusical too) or an injury or stroke. What interested me most was that it is not related to hearing. In fact he cites some individuals with perfect pitch, who cannot yet hear music only as a series of sounds--often unpleasant. There are interesting variations relating to melody, rhythm and tone. To some people (me included) music is just sound, not unpleasant, just white noise. Some others find it unbearable, like pots and pans crashing about. Fortunately, my problem is pretty benign. I don't find music unpleasant, just boring. I relate to the words and for me it's sort of like poetry.

I found the book a pleasure to read; it's filled with interesting case studies and anecdotes. While it was comforting to read about others just like me, it still leaves me really sad that I can't appreciate or share a love of music like most of my friends.

Book description
Sacks is an unparalleled chronicler of modern medicine, and fans of his work will find much to enjoy when he turns his prodigious talent for observation to music and its relationship to the brain. The subtitle aptly frames the book as a series of medical case studies-some in-depth, some abruptly short. The tales themselves range from the relatively mundane (a song that gets stuck on a continuing loop in one's mind) through the uncommon (Tourette's or Parkinson's patients whose symptoms are calmed by particular kinds of music) to the outright startling (a man struck by lightning subsequently developed a new found passion and talent for the concert piano). In this latest collection, Sacks introduces new and fascinating characters, while also touching on the role of music in some of his classic cases (the man who mistook his wife for a hat makes a brief appearance). Though at times the narrative meanders, drawing connections through juxtaposition while leaving broader theories to be inferred by the reader, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. This book leaves one a little more attuned to the remarkable complexity of human beings, and a bit more conscious of the role of music in our lives.