In general, people are afraid to acknowledge hallucinations because they immediately see them as a sign of something awful happening to the brain, whereas in most cases they're not.
Oliver SacksRead
There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate - the genetic and neural fate - of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Each individual is unique and irreplaceable, leaving a lasting impact when they pass away.
This quote by Oliver Sacks emphasizes the uniqueness of every individual and the profound void their absence creates in the world. It reflects on the idea that death is an unavoidable aspect of life, and while each person leaves their distinct mark, their singular paths and experiences cannot be duplicated or replaced, underscoring the value and irreplaceability of human life.
Themes
UniqueIndividualLifeDeathLegacyImpact
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a eulogy to highlight the individuality of the deceased.
More from Oliver Sacks
All quotes →Dr. Kertesz mentioned to me a case known to him of a farmer who had developed prosopagnosia and in consequence could no longer distinguish (the faces of) his cows, and of another such patient, an attendant in a Natural History Museum, who mistook his own reflection for the diorama of an ape
Oliver SacksRead
Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more - it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Oliver SacksRead
We see with the eyes, but we see with the brain as well. And seeing with the brain is often called imagination.
Oliver SacksRead
I rejoice when I meet gifted young people... I feel the future is in good hands.
Oliver SacksRead
If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.
Oliver SacksRead
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