My blog yesterday featured Jonah Lehrer’s analysis of Cézanne’s struggle to represent the world as he saw it, likening it to the very process of vision. Today I would like to look into the process of seeing by autistic individuals. Many autistic individuals are creative and express themselves in the arts. [1] In this short […]
In his book Proust was a Neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer illustrates how the revelations of the arts and literature give us insight into the human mind with as much, and possibly more clarity than does the work of neuroscientists. The chapter about Paul Cézanne caught my interest. Cézanne’s vision The impressionists, whose work was contemporaneous with […]
As I mentioned yesterday, I started reading Proust was a Neuroscientist. The intriguing premise of this book is that discoveries in neuroscience have their parallels in arts and literature. Today I wish to address the author’s treatment of the writer and poet, Walt Whitman, how it applies to neuroscience and explore whether Whitman’s approach can […]
Neuroanatomy Those of you who follow my blog know that my interest in the brain stems from my older brother who is autistic, profoundly retarded and has never uttered a word in his life. I had the good fortune to be able to study neuroanatomy with a colleague, Dr. Andrew Lautin, and participate in the […]
I was browsing in the bookstore in the philosophy section, where I feel the most comfortable, when I came across Existentialism is a Humanism and A Commentary on The Stranger by Jean-Paul Sartre. [1] These days I am looking to strengthen my knowledge of existentialism, in light of my recent experience trying to connect with […]
More processing Those of you following my blog know that I just returned from a visit to my brother Michael, who is autistic, profoundly retarded and nonverbal. In my past few posts I have detailed the visit and its disappointing outcome. I am trying to regroup, using my blog as a forum to articulate ideas […]
It seems that on this trip I am either starting something or ending something. I’m back in Chicago area, having ended a trip to New Jersey to see my original family, including Michael, my older autistic, profoundly retarded and nonverbal brother. I wasn’t hoping for a story book ending on our day trip to see […]
For some reason I started reading The Science of Evil [1] again. It is an easy read, and I needed to relax. Not that reading about the scientific basis of evil, or rather as Baron-Cohen puts it, the erosion of empathy, is a particularly relaxing pastime. However, as it seems as good a place as […]
Since I am traveling once again, I prepared this post earlier. Here is probably the last family portrait: November 11 was significant this year. It was Mike’s birthday and, according to the lunar calendar, it is the Jahrzeit, or anniversary of my father’s death. He is the only one missing from the portrait.
I’m getting ready to return to Chicago after my side trip to New Jersey. My much-anticipated visit with my brother Mike was underwhelming, to say the least. It was a return to reality, in essence quite similar to my previous visits with him. It seems that I spent the intervening years between visits romanticizing my […]
