Dr. Ellen Langer

Really?

I remember the iridologist who was able to look in my eye and know there was something wrong with my gallbladder.

It's all the same.

I go like this, my brain is different.

We don't have the sophisticated machinery, technology to pick up the difference.

But if I took a few cells of your skin and you were mindful versus mindless, the difference is there.

Really?

But we can't see that now.

Holy cow.

Well, yeah.

You should accept that everything is uncertain.

And so then you can't know those things.

If you forget something, it doesn't mean now you're getting dementia.

You forgot something.

and it's interesting because i'm a teacher i'm professor of these wonderful students at harvard and i give an exam and they get a lot of it wrong they studied it they just didn't remember so young people are not infrequently forgetful they just don't worry so much about being forgetful um if you um fall

Some people then take themselves out of the world because they're afraid of falling again.

And I remember in this, I was consulting this nursing home many years ago, and this woman who was, I was in the director's office, and this woman who was about,

I'd say she was about 85 or whatever, visiting her sister who was 90.

And she was bragging.

She said, you know, my sister wanted me to bring tongues to help her put on her underwear by herself.