Suzanne Koven, an internist, once interviewed Oliver Sacks.
Sacks'
interview included some remarks about his surprising drug-taking
history and one startling observation. Later in the interview Sacks
says, "..[A]... parfumier
had made something unlike anything ever encountered on earth. And it
had a very strong smell which aroused no associations and could not be
compared to anything. One realized this was absolute novelty. And I
quote Poe on this: absolute novelty can enter some hallucinations and
maybe some psychosis. I don’t know if imagination is enough. I think
hallucinations in various ways go beyond imagination. These are not
necessarily creative ways, though maybe they could be put down to
creativity."
Kovan asks, " Almost like a visitation? Or would you say hallucinations sometimes come from a part of the brain that isn’t part of the “self?”
Sacks answers, "Yes, well that’s what the muse is. Or the devil!"
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