connecting to Sacks

I saw in the NYTimes on Saturday that Oliver Sacks has taken a job at Columbia. (Click on
the title to see the link.) What interested me most was that this position allows Sacks to broaden his work. He will be teaching a writing class as well as medical classes. This is interesting to me because my colleagues from the psychology department had a reaction to Sacks' writing that surprised me: they felt he was not representing brain science well with his writing. They seemed suspicious of his writing because it wasn't how researchers think about neuroscience. I think one of them was even skeptical of the value of reading his work because it wasn't "correct."
I was really bothered by this attitude because, as a creative writer, I believe that stories teach us truths that scientific writing can't. I understand the importance of research writing where peers read, analyze and build new knowledge, but I also believe that scientists NEED to find ways to communicate to the general public. And I also believe that scientists writing in a self-reflective way, trying to make sense of what they are seeing for themselves is crucial for the scientists and for our society. So I remain a fan of Dr. Sacks' writing, and I look forward to seeing how this new position brings new opportunities and connections for him that he can then share with us!