“But it must be said from the outset that a disease is never a mere los...” — Oliver Sacks Quote

“But it must be said from the outset that a disease is never a mere loss or excess— that there is always a reaction, on the part of the affected organism or individual, to restore, to replace, to compensate for and to preserve its identity, however strange the means may be: and to study or influence these means, no less than the primary insult to the nervous system, is an essential part of our role as physicians.”

“I feel I should be trying to complete my life, whatever 'completing a life' means.”

“I often feel that life is about to begin, only to realize it is almost over.”

“Given her deafness, the auditory part of the brain, deprived of its usual input, had started to generate a spontaneous activity of its own, and this took the form of musical hallucinations, mostly musical memories from her earlier life. The brain needed to stay incessantly active, and if it was not getting its usual stimulation..., it would create its own stimulation in the form of hallucinations.”

“I was always the youngest boy in my class at high school. I have retained this feeling of being the youngest, even though now I am almost the oldest person I know.”

“Wealth is much more than what GDP measures, and the market is not the only source of economic value. She (Kate Raworth) urges policymakers to recognize the values of common lands, green space, biodiversity.”

“I remembered the old doctor, - "It would be interesting for science to watch the mental changes of individuals, on the spot." I felt I was becoming scientifically interesting.”

“Life, from the moment it began on this planet covered by a delicate and fragile atmosphere, has had to battle against countless challenges that threaten its very survival every single second. Beyond this thin layer of air, life, as we know it, cannot exist. Therefore, we must protect our lives fiercely, like shielding a flame from the wind or preserving a beautiful bubble from bursting, or like a dew drop sparkling in the morning sun that we don’t want to let fall. We need to cherish this life intensely and intimately.”

“Reiterating the belief that HIV is the cause of AIDS is an easy thing to do. Understanding the science and politics of the situation is much more complicated and requires study with a critical and open mind.”

“The scientific project starts by rejecting the fantasy of infallibility and proceeding to construct an information network that takes error to be inescapable. Sure, there is much talk about the genius of Copernicus, Darwin, and Einstein, but none of them is considered faultless. They all made mistakes, and even the most celebrated scientific tracts are sure to contain errors and lacunae.”