{"id":41533,"date":"2021-07-03T13:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-03T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=41533"},"modified":"2021-07-14T14:51:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T18:51:59","slug":"intellectual-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks’ Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is an intellectual disorder? Why did psychologist Oliver Sacks find intellectual disorders especially interesting to study? What did he learn about concrete and abstract thought<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat<\/a>, <\/em>Oliver Sacks explains that working with intellectually disabled patients was special to him. He was interested in the differences between concrete and abstract thought and trying to help intellectually disabled patients live lives rich with creativity and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a couple of Oliver Sacks’ stories about his experiences working with patients with intellectual disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Oliver Sacks on Intellectual Disorders <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sacks believed that there was something profoundly moving about working with patients with intellectual disorders. Much of this had to do with the distinctions between abstract and concrete thought<\/a>.<\/strong> Broadly speaking, abstract thought deals with the world of ideas and concepts that don\u2019t \u201cexist\u201d in the physical world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Opera Aficionado<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of Sacks’ patients with an intellectual disorder was Martin, a 61-year-old who came to live at the facility Sacks operated. Martin suffered from Parkinson\u2019s disease and had been severely brain-damaged by meningitis as an infant. His disabilities prevented him from holding down a job or taking care of himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Martin had a gift for music. Specifically, he possessed an exceptional musical memory<\/a> and knew the music from over 2,000 operas<\/strong>, as well as all the other details of each production\u2014the roles, who had sung the leads, and where they\u2019d been performed anywhere in the world. This love of music was an inheritance from his late father, who had been a singer with New York\u2019s Metropolitan Opera. Father and son had bonded over opera and it remained Martin\u2019s passion and guiding light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he first came to live at the facility, Martin could often be irritable and unsociable, given to childlike fits of temper that made him unpopular with staff and patients alike. He later confided to Sacks that he missed being able to sing. He had sung in a choir every Sunday with his beloved father, he explained until the latter passed away. Music was what sustained him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing that Martin was being denied his crucial creative outlet, Sacks arranged to have him resume his singing<\/a> at churches and cathedrals across New York City, where he soon became valued for his encyclopedic musical knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin was utterly transformed when he sang. Gone was the childish and often spiteful person Sacks had come to know at the facility\u2014in these moments, Martin was a complete person<\/strong>, fully at peace. In working with him, Sacks saw that Martin\u2019s musical knowledge was no mere knack or trick of rote memory. Instead, he had a deep and sincere musical intelligence<\/a>, one that could grasp the rich subtleties of a composer like Bach and appreciate the complexity and structure of the music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication Through Drawing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The last Sacks patient whose story we\u2019ll explore is Jose. Jose was a young man in his early 20s who, at age eight, had suffered a severe case of encephalitis. The illness wreaked havoc on Jose\u2019s neurological functioning. He became prone to frequent and violent seizures and was no longer able to communicate verbally\u2014symptoms that doctors would later use to diagnose Jose with autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His parents, fearful that he would suffer a seizure in public and become injured, began keeping him in the cellar of their home. For 15 years, Jose was deprived of nearly all links to the outside world. <\/strong>After a particularly violent seizure, Jose\u2019s parents finally took him to the hospital, where he was able to get the treatment he needed. EEG scans confirmed that Jose was experiencing severe temporal lobe disorders on both his left and right sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hospital staff discovered that Jose had a remarkable talent for drawing. Indeed, Jose\u2019s sketches were his only mode of self-expression, deprived as he was of other means of communication. <\/strong>His excellent performance in visual and spatial tasks seemed to compensate for verbal skills deficits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time Sacks met Jose, he was thoroughly impressed by the young man\u2019s success in drawing a watch in great detail. At their next meeting, Jose was able to reproduce a landscape scene on a magazine cover. In fact, Jose\u2019s copy surpassed the original in many ways\u2014he imbued the scene with mood, feeling, and character that had been lacking in the original. <\/strong>Subsequent drawings from Jose hinted at an interior life rich with creativity, emotion, and a sophisticated appreciation for aesthetics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jose\u2019s artistic works demonstrated his entirely concrete and particular mind. They evinced no understanding of general categories or fixed forms and were free of ambiguity. Sacks saw that a talented artist like Jose had the potential to lead a rich and fulfilling life<\/a>, perhaps as an illustrator. But he lamented the short-sightedness of the mental health system of which Jose was a part. Nurturing his prodigious talents would require the patience that the other doctors around him lacked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His gifts were too often written off by the hospital staff as being merely tricks of a human Xerox machine, rather than the artistic fruits of a sensitive and delicate soul.<\/strong> Sacks lamented that Jose\u2019s talents were likely to be wasted, his potential remaining forever untapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sacks\u2019 work with his patients shows the pitfalls of traditional thinking about neurological disorders. As we\u2019ve seen, people suffering from these conditions can lead rich lives filled with joy and creativity. Studying disorders of the human brain, ironically, can give us insight into just how powerful it is and how it is the source of so much of our humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is incumbent on the neurological profession to expand its view of neurological disorders and of the people who are afflicted by them. There is enormous untapped potential and capacity for them to lead meaningful and productive lives<\/a>. But first, we must abandon the idea that such individuals are irreparably damaged or abnormal. But perhaps their \u201cnormal\u201d isn\u2019t deviant or wrong, but merely different than our own. Rather than attempting to cure or alter it, we should open ourselves up to the possibilities that the study of their unique brains can reveal to us. In recognizing their humanity, we come to recognize our own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is an intellectual disorder? Why did psychologist Oliver Sacks find intellectual disorders especially interesting to study? What did he learn about concrete and abstract thought? In his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explains that working with intellectually disabled patients was special to him. He was interested in the differences between concrete and abstract thought and trying to help intellectually disabled patients live lives rich with creativity and joy. Here are a couple of Oliver Sacks’ stories about his experiences working with patients with intellectual disorders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":41818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,9,160],"tags":[419],"class_list":["post-41533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for-a-hat","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1106\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"637\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks’ Studies\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\"},\"wordCount\":1060,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\",\"name\":\"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg\",\"width\":1106,\"height\":637},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks’ Studies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies - Shortform Books","description":"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies","og_description":"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1106,"height":637,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks’ Studies","datePublished":"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/"},"wordCount":1060,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","keywords":["The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat"],"articleSection":["Health","Psychology","Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/","name":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks' Studies - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","datePublished":"2021-07-03T17:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-14T18:51:59+00:00","description":"Psychologist Oliver Sacks was especially interested in working with patients with intellectual disorders. Here are some of his stories.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","width":1106,"height":637},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intellectual-disorder\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is an Intellectual Disorder? Oliver Sacks’ Studies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brain-statue.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41533"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42077,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41533\/revisions\/42077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}