The Science of Storytelling

by Will Storr

Dr Todd Feinberg writes of a patient, Lizzy, who suffered strokes in her occipital lobes. As can happen in such cases, her brain didn’t immediately process the fact she’d gone ‘suddenly and totally’ blind, so it continued projecting its hallucinated model of the world. Visiting her hospital bed, Feinberg enquired if she was having trouble with her vision in any way. ‘No,’ she said. When he asked her to take a look around and tell him what she saw, she moved her head accordingly. ‘It’s good to see friends and family, you know,’ she said. ‘It makes me feel like I’m in good hands.’ But there was nobody else there. ‘Tell me their names,’ said Feinberg. ‘I don’t know everybody. They’re my brother’s friends.’ ‘Look at me. What am I wearing?’ ‘A casual outfit. You know, a jacket and pants. Mostly navy blue and maroon.’ Feinberg was in his hospital whites. Lizzy continued their chat smiling and acting ‘as if she had not a care in the world’.

just wow!