A 19 year old with a brain tumor undergoes a procedure called “awake craniotomy” or “awake mapping”. The patient is heavily sedated, but remains conscious during the operation, in which the skullcap is removed and the brain is removed - all while the patient is awake, so surgeons can talk to him. In this case, the patient was asked to read Kurt Vonnegut aloud - when the patient’s reading slows, stutters or is affected, the surgeons know they have hit a sensitive, crucial area in the brain, and should avoid that area. Watch the Video!
I just want to know which one he was reading… Slaughterhouse Five? Breakfast of Champions? Did he get to choose, and if so…why Vonnegut?
Now I’m pondering what I would choose to read aloud if my own skull was cracked, and masked men were poking at me with scalpels. Certainly nothing funny, so that leaves out David Sedaris…laughter doesn’t make for a steady hand. I’d avoid Chuck Palahniuk, too, since people keep fainting at his readings, and that’s no good. I think I’d like to opt for something inspiring, or something familiar and comforting.
Or maybe some 1984 by George Orwell. Nothing like reading about the Thought Police while people tinker with your thinker.
Anyway…interesting article, and food for thought!
