Why does it matter to Sacks that he tell stories about his patients rather than giving sterile case studies?

Sacks believes that while sterile case studies might be more informative for a scientist, something is inevitably left out of such explanations. A narrative can give the reader a picture of the whole person that Sacks is concerned with, enabling the reader to see beyond the defect and not identify the character with her defect. This enables the reader to identify with the subject and come to understand and respect her.