Visual Agnosia, or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Visual Agnosia, or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat! Boom! Long Title! This one was a doozy! Whenever things get sciency up in here, we get a little nervous because it is not our personal forte. But the various disorders that fall under the umbrella of "agnosia" are so interesting and unknown, it was worth the deep dive. This episode was sparked by Katie's request to Zack that he let her know if he learned about a guy who thought his wife was a hat in psych class, and it turned into something great. We learned that there really was a man who mistook his wife for a hat, and the reason why we all know about him is because his neurologist wrote about him in a book. That man had visual agnosia - there's also auditory and tactile agnosia, and we get into them all. The brain is an incredible thing... and so much more delicate and complicated than we generally give it credit for! Also, if this episode isn't enough for you, you can watch an opera, a French play, an Indian play, and listen to a Scottish indie rock band album all based on "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." Enjoy!

Highlights Include:

- Dr. P: The man who mistook his wife for a hat

- Face Blindness explained!

- Oliver Sacks's ironic twist of fate

 

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Podcast artwork by Rick Radvanksy

Music by Jake Radvanksy