Couple good books (Deaf-related)

Oliver Sacks is a noted neurologist, and has published some interesting books in the past. One became the basis for the movie "Awakenings" with Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro, and another I have read was "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" which is a collection of interesting case studies of various pathologies. I recently became aware that he also has a couple books dealing with the sense of hearing.

"Seeing Voices" dives into quite a bit of Deaf history and lends plenty of credence to ASL as a whole language. It's been a few months since I read this book, but basically he became very interested in the Deaf at some point in his life and decided to learn more and try to tackle some important issues at hand. Also describes a phenomenon likely familiar to many late-deaf people known as "phantasmic voices". An example of this is "hearing" a voice while watching someone speak, even though the voice is not really audible. Overall, it is light reading, but extremely informative for anyone interested an Deaf history and culture.

"Musicophilia" deals with the relationship between music and the human mind. Takes a case study approach and can be quite hilarious at times (how many jingles have you ever had on repeat at 3am?). A really interesting read.

Comments

Michelle said…
hey, check this guy out: http://www.stormfx.net/video.html
he's interpreted some popular songs and posted the videos on youtube also, and he's fantastic.
he doesn't caption, but he posts a link to the lyrics, so it's SOMEthing. it also sucks that my player is too slow to catch all his signs, but either way, it's very enjoyable
October 30, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Aaron said…
woh that manson one was pretty insane. need to read the lyrics a few times and watch a few more times to try to fully understand. so fast!! we should show beth =)
October 30, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Abbie said…
Thanks for these! :)
November 6, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Anonymous said…
hello, and thanks for the suggestions. I think I will have to check out the "Seeing Voices" one for sure...
=)
debcny
November 19, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New hearing aids - Rexton Cobalt 16

I picked up my new hearing aids today and thought I would post my initial thoughts. First, let's take a little journey back in time to understand some of my history. I got my first set of ears 10 years ago. They were the Senso+ model in the CIC (completely-in-the-canal) size, made by Widex. They were almost invisible and functioned fairly well, but after four years they were no longer powerful enough to keep up with my progressive loss, so I got a new set. The new set were Phonak Claro ITE (in-the-ear) models, and were far more technologically advanced, and also far larger and more noticeable. I was able to control the volume and choose programs using my Phonak wristwatch. I have worn these for about five years now, but again my hearing loss has outgrown the volume possible with these models. Fast forward to present day. I recently bought a pair of Rexton Cobalt 16 (same as Siemens Pure 700) and a bluetooth remote control that Rexton calls an RCU (same as the Siemens Tek). The
Read more

Guest Blog - Children and Hearing Loss-Changing Lives by Raising Awareness

This is my first guest post, by fellow blogger John O'Connor -  bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com Perfect hearing is something that the average person really takes for granted. When people think of hearing loss, they often associate the condition with people who are old in age. Hearing loss is common in babies and young children. A person can be born deaf of suffer hearing loss gradually over time. Of the estimated 738,000 people in the U.S. who have experienced substantial hearing loss, 8 percent of those people fall under the age of 18 . People should understand that hearing loss is something that affects people from all backgrounds of all ages. Many people, especially children, are at risk for hearing loss. It is estimated that 15 percent of children between the ages of 6-19 years old have experienced low or high frequency hearing at the 16th decibel in one or both ears. Children who may be hard of hearing may find it hard to grasp certain concepts like word order or may hav
Read more

ASL class starts today - Level TWO!!

I am really excited about taking the level 2 class this year. We were all really worried that it wasn't going to happen since we needed a minimum number of people and a couple people from level 1 moved away over the summer. So it is very welcome news that the class is happening, and I am really looking forward to taking my ASL to the next level!!
Read more