Instructions

Once I assign you a reading, write 300-500 words describing the case study, including:
- What were the patient’s symptoms?
- What areas of the brain could be responsible for causing the symptoms (potentially in addition to what Dr. Sacks concluded)?
- Was the patient treatable? How so?
  - If not, how might the patient compensate/overcome their “obstacles.”
- How common do you think the patient’s condition is? What makes the case study unique, especially compared with other patients with the same disease.
Scientific Writing
- There are lots of science-related jobs.
  - Researcher: Becoming a professor or researcher at a pharmaceutical company
    - Requires you to write-up very technical journal articles, like you do in your labs!
  - Journalist: Writing for a newspaper, blogs, or mainstream magazines like Discover, Popular Science, & Scientific American.
    - Requires you to assume that your reader has no (or little) scientific background.
  - Technical: People who evaluate inventions, venture capitalists, scientific financial advisors, consultants, patent agents.
    - Requires very succinct and to-the-point writing, putting things in a very “translational” context.
- For this assignment, write like a “journalist.”
Artwork
- Help people understand your write-up
- Make people want to learn more about the condition
- Influence people to read the book & learn about neuroscience
- Examples:
  - Draw a picture of the brain, pointing out regions or circuits that the patient’s condition affected
  - Make a brief YouTube video or drawing describing some of the behavioral tests used
  - Are you a photographer? Take an interesting photo associated with the patient’s profession.
  - The artwork doesn't have to be too time-consuming, the most important part of the assignment is the 300-500-word write-up.
  - Important: Be appropriate and respectful!

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