Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about adaptation in his patients. Strengths coming through as a result of disease.

Studs Terkel interviews Oliver Sacks.

And I offer a story bite of my own. Enjoy.

What I’m Reading

This week I was reading several interviews the neurologist/writer Oliver Sacks gave. In one, Studs Terkel talks to Sacks about a client of his, a painter, who through an accident had lost all sense of color. His brain could only see blurs of black, white, gray. The point of the discussion was that people can have strengths that come through as a result of a disease. They were calling it adaptation. The painter had become a night person, painting nocturnal scenes. He no longer liked the glare and brightness of the day.

In the conversation Terkel mentioned that this reminded him of the painter Edward Hopper. Sacks went on to say he knew of another totally color blind person who loved Hopper’s paintings. The client favored the many night scenes, Hopper’s noirish work.

I have always enjoyed Hopper’s paintings, especially “Nighthawks”. I jumped onto Google to read about Hopper’s use of color. One art critic said Hopper loved to paint sunlight against a building wall.

Quotes I found that reference Hopper’s color and light include these few:

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