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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To what does Einstein compare creating a new theory?
(a) Building a skyscraper.
(b) Climbing a mountain.
(c) Rediscovering the world.
(d) Tearing down a house to build a skyscraper.

2. Why was it so difficult for Sacks to take the first step?
(a) He had forgotten how to walk.
(b) His feet felt too heavy to lift.
(c) He could not get his sense of balance.
(d) He felt that the physiotherapists were pressuring him.

3. Who, in Sacks's family, had worked closely with Head?
(a) His father.
(b) His mother.
(c) His cousin.
(d) His brother.

4. When Sacks talks about the hole in memory and identity, what is he referring to (Afterword, pg 200)?
(a) A hole in his sense of selfhood.
(b) A hole in the higher-order consciousness.
(c) A hole in his subconscious understanding of the world.
(d) A hole in the primary consciousness.

5. What colors were the Head books which Sacks bought?
(a) Yellow and purple.
(b) Red and white.
(c) Black and white.
(d) Green and red.

6. Why did Sacks sit looking out the window for hours on end?
(a) He was starved to look at anything green.
(b) He was tired of his hospital room.
(c) He was realizing how cut off from life he was.
(d) He was eager to see other people.

7. Sacks had written to Luria explaining his accident and the subsequent alienation he felt. What was Luria's response?
(a) Sacks' experience was odd but worth writing about.
(b) Luria did not understand Sacks' experience.
(c) Sacks was opening a new medical field.
(d) Sacks' experience was unique.

8. What concerto did Sacks listen to on a cassette tape?
(a) Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.
(b) Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor.
(c) Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5.
(d) Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major.

9. In the hospital gardens, what set patients off from non-patients?
(a) Their white hospital gowns.
(b) Their various bandages and stitches.
(c) Their demeanor of illness.
(d) Their attitude toward other people.

10. Why could Head not explain the poetry of music and movement the way he felt it?
(a) He was essentially a scientist.
(b) He did not feel music and movement very deeply.
(c) He had a limited capacity for expressing himself to others.
(d) He could only explain the poetry in scientific terms.

11. What color did Head attribute to neurology?
(a) White.
(b) Green.
(c) Grey.
(d) Black.

12. According to Head, when dealing with body alienation, what is of "fundamental importance" (Chapter Seven, pg 200)?
(a) A detailed description of the medical circumstances.
(b) A clear chronology.
(c) An understanding of the factors involved in recovery.
(d) A thorough understanding of the emotions involved.

13. What problem did Sacks find with Leontev and Zaporozhet's book?
(a) The authors did not interview enough patients.
(b) The authors did not analyze the data they created.
(c) The authors did not move beyond systematic analysis.
(d) The book was not written cohesively.

14. Previous to his accident, how did Sacks think things were accomplished in the world?
(a) By love and understanding.
(b) By reason and will.
(c) By sheer willpower.
(d) By external impetus.

15. Following his second fall, how long did Sacks wait before surgery was performed
(a) Three hours.
(b) Eight hours.
(c) Two hours.
(d) Half an hour.

Short Answer Questions

1. Following the book fair, why did Sacks take the slow train from Boston to New York?

2. While watching the surgery on his right leg, what time does Sacks remember?

3. For people with hemi-inattention, what does "anosognosis" mean?

4. Once the cast was removed, Sacks gingerly touched his leg. How did it feel?

5. When moving out of his tiny hospital room, why did Sacks see the world as two-dimensional?

(see the answer keys)

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