The man who mistook his wife for a hat

Heya, I am so close to being finished with my personal statement, I have read a few books, one of them being the man who mistook his wife for a hat. I am not sure whether to put it in my personal statement, this is because I have read many personal statements where this book is mentioned. Do I include it or do I leave it out, because I'm thinking that its quite basic and the admission people would have already read people's opinions on this book multiple times. If anyone could offer me advice I would be really grateful.

Thanks, Rosie

Reply 1

Rosie0404563

OP

2

this is for psychology

Reply 2

Interrobang

20

It is a common one to mention, so if you have other ones to talk about then they would likely be better. I agree it's a fascinating book though :smile:

I was drawn into this thread just from the title.

Did a guy really mistake his wife for a hat?

Reply 4

Interrobang

20

Original post by PinkMobilePhone

I was drawn into this thread just from the title.

Did a guy really mistake his wife for a hat?

Essentially, yes. I read the book a while ago and found this summary:

We can see a clear example of a neurological deficit in the case of Dr. P, who experienced strange problems with visual recognition. He was unable to recognize the faces of his students and was known to pat inanimate objects like parking meters and fire hydrants, thinking they were children. He even struggled to identify his own wife—whose head he often grabbed at, believing it was a hat. Dr. P was suffering from agnosia—an inability to recognize and interpret visual data.

Sacks found that Dr. P could only recognize pictures of family and friends in which the subjects had distinct features—he identified a photo of his brother Paul, for example, by noting Paul’s square jaw and big teeth. He could identify only the features and use them as a clue to guess the identity of the person, but he was not truly recognizing them.

Despite this, Dr. P’s mind seemed to compensate for this deficit by crediting his neurological “account” in other ways. He had exceptional powers of abstract description and excelled at schematic mental models involving abstract shapes—for example, he was a skillful player of blind chess, able to perfectly visualize the board and pieces in his mind. His intact abstract sensibility gave him some means of interpreting what he saw with his eyes, providing him with a tool to order, recognize, and make sense of his world.

(edited 2 years ago)

Original post by Interrobang

Essentially, yes. I read the book a while ago and found this summary:

We can see a clear example of a neurological deficit in the case of Dr. P, who experienced strange problems with visual recognition. He was unable to recognize the faces of his students and was known to pat inanimate objects like parking meters and fire hydrants, thinking they were children. He even struggled to identify his own wife—whose head he often grabbed at, believing it was a hat. Dr. P was suffering from agnosia—an inability to recognize and interpret visual data.

Sacks found that Dr. P could only recognize pictures of family and friends in which the subjects had distinct features—he identified a photo of his brother Paul, for example, by noting Paul’s square jaw and big teeth. He could identify only the features and use them as a clue to guess the identity of the person, but he was not truly recognizing them.

Despite this, Dr. P’s mind seemed to compensate for this deficit by crediting his neurological “account” in other ways. He had exceptional powers of abstract description and excelled at schematic mental models involving abstract shapes—for example, he was a skillful player of blind chess, able to perfectly visualize the board and pieces in his mind. His intact abstract sensibility gave him some means of interpreting what he saw with his eyes, providing him with a tool to order, recognize, and make sense of his world.

Gosh!

Reply 6

Rosie0404563

OP

2

I applied and didn't include this book, I got offers from all 5 Universities that I applied to. yay

Reply 7

KA_P

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

20

Original post by Interrobang

Essentially, yes. I read the book a while ago and found this summary:

We can see a clear example of a neurological deficit in the case of Dr. P, who experienced strange problems with visual recognition. He was unable to recognize the faces of his students and was known to pat inanimate objects like parking meters and fire hydrants, thinking they were children. He even struggled to identify his own wife—whose head he often grabbed at, believing it was a hat. Dr. P was suffering from agnosia—an inability to recognize and interpret visual data.

Sacks found that Dr. P could only recognize pictures of family and friends in which the subjects had distinct features—he identified a photo of his brother Paul, for example, by noting Paul’s square jaw and big teeth. He could identify only the features and use them as a clue to guess the identity of the person, but he was not truly recognizing them.

Despite this, Dr. P’s mind seemed to compensate for this deficit by crediting his neurological “account” in other ways. He had exceptional powers of abstract description and excelled at schematic mental models involving abstract shapes—for example, he was a skillful player of blind chess, able to perfectly visualize the board and pieces in his mind. His intact abstract sensibility gave him some means of interpreting what he saw with his eyes, providing him with a tool to order, recognize, and make sense of his world.