Today, Oliver Sacks , famous neurologist of 82 years, died victim of a cancerous tumor in the eye that has metastasized. His personal assistant, Kate Edgar, confirmed his death in his home in New York, the city where he had taken up residence for five decades.
As noted by The New York Times today, in 1984 Sacks said he looked like “a naturalist or an explorer.” “I’ve explored many strange neurological lands, the far Arctic and tropics of neurological disorders,” he said.
Sacks, professor of neurology at the School of Medicine, New York University, was part of a . select club of scientists whose discoveries have managed to permeate wider audience
In 2008 received the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to science (AP).
His works have revealed previously unknown scientific explanations for the origin of hallucinations, for example, and both his essays and books have been a great help to the average American.
And Sacks was able to combine the exploration of the mind to the world of literature.
Only in America, has sold a million books, including “Awakenings” (“Awakenings”, 1973), which inspired a movie, “The man who mistook His Wife for a Hat” (“The man who mistook his wife for a hat”, 1985), which inspired an opera.
On its website, the famous neurologist appears mounted on a classic BMW, young, reflecting one of his many hobbies. He participated in competitions in weightlifting and was part of a group of motorcyclists called “Hell’s Angels”.
Right there, a follower of New Jersey, commenting on the news about his cancer, he says Sacks is one of the few doctors who has been known to have medical records.
Another person, from Venezuela, highlighted its quality so that people interested in the human being from a “fascinating perspective.”
devoted part of his life to studying diseases like Alzheimer’s. (Photo: AP)
Although it was born July 9, 1933 in London, the son of a Jewish family of doctors and scientists, and graduated in medicine at Queen’s College, Oxford, he said professionally in the United States, where he arrived in 1960.
He first worked in a hospital in San Francisco, then in Los Angeles and since 1965 remained in New York.
“You’ve always been a globetrotter (…). You seem to have a strange adventure after another. I wonder if you ever find your destiny, “he told an aunt when he visited Sacks in a hospital after a fall on a mountain in Norway.
Melómano convinced, Sacks, in his curriculum vitae official records that between 2007 and 2012 was “artist” at the University of Columbia, New York, where he also taught neurology and psychiatry.
His list of awards and honors is long, and accumulated many medals and awards. The scientist now deceased has up an asteroid, the 84928, named oliversacks in 2008 to reward his work in the field of neurology.
He gave many ideas about diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and hallucinations. He was active until recently, not only with medical trials, but also pages of his life and his ideas.
Two weeks ago he published an article in The New York Times, titled “Sabbath” in the explaining its relationship with religion and Judaism of his family, and how he lives the sacred day of rest for the Jews.
“I find my thoughts drifting Saturday, the Sabbath the seventh week, and maybe the seventh day of my life, “said the end of that article, in a kind of early departure.
” When you can feel that one’s work it is finished, and can, in good conscience, relax, “said
Source:. EFE
