Writing about the brain can sometimes bring me amazingly close to my readers–so close that I feel like I’m inside their minds. Case in point: my new column for Discover, on the subject of the mind’s eye.

Here’s how it begins:

I describe the singular case of MX, and what he tells scientists about our mind’s eye. The original paper that inspired the column compared MX to a group of normal men of his age and profession to figure out what was unique about him. But to my surprise–and to the surprise of the scientists I wrote about–a lot of readers felt a great kinship with MX.

Discover is running a selection of letters to the editor about the column, and