In 1998, I had a thalamotomy, the destruction of specific cells in the part of the brain called the thalamus that controls involuntary movement. Dr. Bruce Cook, the neurosurgeon in charge, drilled a hole through my skull and fed a filament down through the brain to the target. He explained why, in the age-old comparison between rocket scientists and brain surgeons, surgeons prevail: There’s no margin for error.
