Ideas change everything

What hallucination reveals about our minds

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Oliver Sacks |

TED2009

• February 2009

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnet syndrome -- when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnet syndrome -- when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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About the speaker

Neurological anthropologist

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Since "Awakenings" stormed the bestseller lists (and the silver screen), Oliver Sacks has become an unlikely household name, single-handedly inventing the genre of neurological anthropology.

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Hallucinations

Oliver Sacks | Vintage (2013)

Oliver Sacks - *Hallucinations*

Oliver Sacks' published works

The neurologist's highly accessible writing on the human brain — 12 books, more than 100 articles and counting — is collected at oliversacks.com.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.