Dr. Ellen Langer

that the person who gets an 89, so you go from an 80 to an 89, you get a B, a 90 to 100, you get an A, nobody in their right mind would think there's a real difference between the person who's gotten the 89 and the person who's gotten the 90. But their worlds become very different. You know, all the ambiguity is hidden. We studied this. It's the borderline effect, as we call it.

that the person who gets an 89, so you go from an 80 to an 89, you get a B, a 90 to 100, you get an A, nobody in their right mind would think there's a real difference between the person who's gotten the 89 and the person who's gotten the 90. But their worlds become very different. You know, all the ambiguity is hidden. We studied this. It's the borderline effect, as we call it.

So imagine, let's say you and I take an IQ test for argument's sake, that you get a 70, so you're normal. I get a 69, so I'm cognitively deprived. I could have sneezed and read the question wrong. I could have come up with multiple answers that could have been better than the one that got the question and the person who wrote the question and so on. But now we're put into two different categories.

So imagine, let's say you and I take an IQ test for argument's sake, that you get a 70, so you're normal. I get a 69, so I'm cognitively deprived. I could have sneezed and read the question wrong. I could have come up with multiple answers that could have been better than the one that got the question and the person who wrote the question and so on. But now we're put into two different categories.

So imagine, let's say you and I take an IQ test for argument's sake, that you get a 70, so you're normal. I get a 69, so I'm cognitively deprived. I could have sneezed and read the question wrong. I could have come up with multiple answers that could have been better than the one that got the question and the person who wrote the question and so on. But now we're put into two different categories.

And because I'm cognitively deficient, I'm not given the training that I should be given. I no longer think well of myself. And so if you asked me to read certain things, I'd probably opt out and so on. And in a very short time, the difference between us becomes very real. Well, it's the same thing with a medical diagnosis.

And because I'm cognitively deficient, I'm not given the training that I should be given. I no longer think well of myself. And so if you asked me to read certain things, I'd probably opt out and so on. And in a very short time, the difference between us becomes very real. Well, it's the same thing with a medical diagnosis.

And because I'm cognitively deficient, I'm not given the training that I should be given. I no longer think well of myself. And so if you asked me to read certain things, I'd probably opt out and so on. And in a very short time, the difference between us becomes very real. Well, it's the same thing with a medical diagnosis.

There is always somebody who's right below the border who has it, or we'll say who doesn't have it, below, and the person right above or at that has it, where the two scores are not meaningfully different. But where one then is told they have the disease and the other not, and the difference becomes real over time.

There is always somebody who's right below the border who has it, or we'll say who doesn't have it, below, and the person right above or at that has it, where the two scores are not meaningfully different. But where one then is told they have the disease and the other not, and the difference becomes real over time.

There is always somebody who's right below the border who has it, or we'll say who doesn't have it, below, and the person right above or at that has it, where the two scores are not meaningfully different. But where one then is told they have the disease and the other not, and the difference becomes real over time.

And so we have data supporting that, and it's almost just a Gedanken experiment, a thought experiment. At some point, you have to put a limit, but you need to always know that it's made up. What is the expiration date for this can of food? There are people who actually go through their shelves and throw these things out because it's two weeks old.

And so we have data supporting that, and it's almost just a Gedanken experiment, a thought experiment. At some point, you have to put a limit, but you need to always know that it's made up. What is the expiration date for this can of food? There are people who actually go through their shelves and throw these things out because it's two weeks old.

And so we have data supporting that, and it's almost just a Gedanken experiment, a thought experiment. At some point, you have to put a limit, but you need to always know that it's made up. What is the expiration date for this can of food? There are people who actually go through their shelves and throw these things out because it's two weeks old.

not realizing how did they come up with that date in the first place? Anyway, to go back to what you were saying, let me remind you now because I'm having the junior moment, that labels, names of things, these categories help us organize things, but more often or as often hold things still and cause problems. I did that first study way back when called A Patient by Any Other Name.

not realizing how did they come up with that date in the first place? Anyway, to go back to what you were saying, let me remind you now because I'm having the junior moment, that labels, names of things, these categories help us organize things, but more often or as often hold things still and cause problems. I did that first study way back when called A Patient by Any Other Name.

not realizing how did they come up with that date in the first place? Anyway, to go back to what you were saying, let me remind you now because I'm having the junior moment, that labels, names of things, these categories help us organize things, but more often or as often hold things still and cause problems. I did that first study way back when called A Patient by Any Other Name.

And we made a videotape of a person being interviewed and showed it to therapists who were either behavior therapists or Freudian types. And the person on the tape was called either a patient or a job applicant. So the exact same tape. When we called the person a patient, they were seen as having hidden this and problems in that and so on.

And we made a videotape of a person being interviewed and showed it to therapists who were either behavior therapists or Freudian types. And the person on the tape was called either a patient or a job applicant. So the exact same tape. When we called the person a patient, they were seen as having hidden this and problems in that and so on.

And we made a videotape of a person being interviewed and showed it to therapists who were either behavior therapists or Freudian types. And the person on the tape was called either a patient or a job applicant. So the exact same tape. When we called the person a patient, they were seen as having hidden this and problems in that and so on.