TOW #12- Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (IRB post 1)

For my IRB, I am reading Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. Oliver Sacks is a world-renowned neurologist who is a professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine, as well as a physician and an author. He has written many books about neurology in addition to this book. He establishes ethos in his written by referencing the numerous patients he has treated on the topic, saying, “...I have occasionally had patients with a similar sudden onset of musical or artistic interests” (8). The first part of the book that I have read so far is about anomalies people have experienced in their brains with a connection to music. For example, some people have experienced seizures triggered by certain types and sounds of music, while other people have experienced a sudden appreciation and desire to learn certain things about music as a result of a traumatic brain experience, such as being in an accident, struck by lightning, or having a brain tumor. The book is written in order to inform the reader about these crazy, seemingly unnatural experiences. It is written for the general public, so although the topic is a highly advanced medical idea, it is written in a way that the general public has to be able to understand. As a result, the Sacks writes using a plethora of anecdotes, both personal and general, and footnotes. Sacks’ personal anecdotes refer to his personal experiences, while his general anecdotes give clear examples of people who have experienced the topics about which he is writing. As a personal anecdote, Sacks writes, “As I was dressing this morning after a swim, I was reminded, now I was on land again, of my painful, arthritic old knees-and I thought too about my friend Nick, who would be visiting that day” (36). This personal anecdotes give Sacks a personal connection to his audience, as well as to the topic about which he is speaking. The general anecdotes give examples of the experiences about which Sacks is writing in order to help the audience understand more clearly. For example, Sacks writes, “Tony Cicoria was forty-two, very fit and robust, a former college football player who had become a well-regarded orthopedic surgeon in a small city in upstate New York” (3). The footnotes, as well, help the reader understand the topic, since they provide additional information on the studies and topics referenced that the general public might not know otherwise. In this way, Sacks effectively accomplishes his purpose of informing the general public about crazy experiences relating music and the brain.