THE PROBLEM WITH LABELS

So anyways, I'm coming at this topic head-on because I feel it's a very important thing to discuss, and I ACTUALLY do possess a shred of credibility on the subject.

The subject is "labeling".

For those who may not know, I have a bachelor's degree in psychology, which does a lot of labeling, and while I lack any sort of "degree" in astrology, I know a lot about it. I studied it extensively as a child and as a teenager, because it filled a basic human need to make sense of my world. I'm sure you can see where this post is headed.

I believe that every human being is a scientist at heart.

What I mean by this, is that we all in some form or other take steps to observe, test, and categorize the world around us.

This process not only allows us to put the universe which surrounds us into a certain perspective in relation to ourselves, but it also allows us to put OURSELVES into a position with relation to the universe. In other words, it allows us to find an identity - a most basic need of all human beings.

Couple this fact with the way the human brain works. I don't intend to bore anyone with the details of the way neurons fire, the circuitry of the cerebellum, or the role of the amygdala.

Instead, know this fundamental truth: the human brain is like water. It will take the path of least resistance. In other words, in the quest to understand the world around it, the human brain will seek to do the easiest thing it can: CATEGORIZE and LABEL.

This is not only effective and efficient, it is also very necessary. The biologist, of necessity, labels organisms based on their physical characteristics. The medical doctor labels diseases based on their structure and the effects on the body. The psychologist categorizes certain ailments of the nervous system based on a series of tests designed to narrow down the cause.

But when does all this beautiful simplicity go too far? At what point does it no longer apply? Is there a proverbial line that should not be crossed? And, if said line is crossed, is there harm in it?

Back in the 1800s, a new "science" was born called phrenology. Yet another discipline created to understand human behavior, it maintained that by measuring the shape, bumps, and crevices of one's skull, one could ascertain one's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as many personality traits.

A simple way to put it, is this: Based on the terrain of your skull, you are either very intelligent, very moronic, very skilled at this, or not so very skilled at that.

I imagine it would be a whole lot of fun to do a little phrenology test at a family gathering on all of us. I'm serious, it would be a riot. A LOT of fun. Could you imagine all the funnies that would be bantered about?

But to those living when phrenology was considered "viable", it was no laughing matter.

But is something like phrenology "dangerous"?

Yes. For several reasons:

1. It was not scientifically viable at all. There was absolutely no literature or random testing to give it any credence based on the principles of the scientific method.

2. How must one feel, believing phrenology to be "gospel", if he discovered that he isn't very intelligent, or that he has the personality of a toad? Do you think perhaps, it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

You might be thinking to yourself, "well, he doesn't have to believe it." But bare in mind, they actually thought this stuff was "scientific". Consider how we tend to believe so much of what we are told today when something is labeled as "scientific."

3. Not only can it harm the person who has been categorized, but it also skews the perceptions of those who have categorized him. Consider this: A person has been labeled as cognitively deficient in the area of mathematics based on some lump on the back of his head. However, he had hitherto felt fairly confident in his ability to compute numbers. Remember now, phrenology is "viable".

Even if the person did not believe it to be true, those around him would not allow him to break free of his label because it would upset their understanding of him. They KNOW he is not a math genius. Therefore, to challenge that notion would upset their whole paradigm. It would threaten the way they see the world, and his place in it. Such a notion is a difficult one to swallow, because it, of necessity, would cause a shift in thinking which is painful due to the mere fact that it creates instability in the mind.

It is FEAR. We hate fear. We FEAR fear. It's not the fear of a scary monster, or the fear of an impending tragedy, but it's a subconscious fear that messes with our place in the universe and others' places in relation to us. It sounds easy to deal with, but it's really not.

Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who was a certain way, and you developed your entire relationship with that person around certain identities?

He was the "smart" one, or she was the "pretty" one, or he was the "funny" one? And then, one day the "funny" one decided he wanted to be taken seriously, so he became the "serious" one.

But you weren't having any of that.

That wasn't his "role" or his "label". And, even though he was very serious and no longer funny, you kept treating him like the "funny" one, even though it no longer applied. It is almost as if you said, "oh no you don't. You are funny, and are not allowed to be anything other than funny."

Did he succeed in becoming the "serious" one? Perhaps. But not likely, because of the external pressure of his friends to "keep him in his place."

Herein lies the danger, and my whole point about "labeling" and "categorizing" people as this way or that way:

Negative labels: "lazy", "stupid", "anal retentive", "critical" etcetera, etcetera are nearly always self-perpetuating and self-fulfilling.

Positive labels: "intelligent", "pretty", "social", etcetera, etcetera are sometimes self-fulfilling, but not always, and are not good when given in excess, or when simply not true. Tell your kids they're smart if they are, but beware lest they use that label to put others into what they perceive to be their place in relation to them.

My feeling is that such pseudo-science like astrology, not to be confused with astronomy, which has absolutely no scientific merit whatsoever, is every bit as harmful as the pseudo-science of phrenology. Could somebody please explain to me why what day you are born is any more a predictor of personality than the size of the lumps on your noggin. In fact, I would say that phrenology, as pathetic as it was, had a much stronger case than astrology.

I happen to believe the only reason astrology is still around is because, unlike phrenology, which can be tested scientifically, and subsequently debunked, astrology has nothing to even test. It not only is non-scientific, it is not even test-able. (For some of you out there, I know that you can say the same for religion. Fine. That's for another post.)

I am a Virgo. There. I just labeled myself.

For those who know what Virgos are supposed to be like, and have never met me, would quickly assume that I was critical, cold, unfriendly, analytical, a "neat-freak", lacking a heart, and otherwise peevish.

Well, in some of these aspects they may be right. I am a critical thinker, I do love to analyze, and I can come across as peevish, cold, and lacking a heart. But the funny thing is, my wife would tell you otherwise. But how much of this is the result of self-fulfilling prophecy?

What if I wanted to change? To the true believer of astrology, I couldn't change. Neither would such a practitioner treat me inconsistently with how they have labelled me. In other words they would ridiculously maintain that I am a neat freak even though I've been somewhat of a mess-maker my entire life!

That simply doesn't make any sense.

So whether you've been labeled the "pretty" one, the "social" one, the "cold" one, or the "other" one, I would encourage you to find out who you really are, irrespective of how you've been labeled. It is difficult because others will have to shift their way of thinking. The human mind would rather keep a negative label on you, than see you change for the positive, causing them to shift their way of thinking, especially if it's a matter of pride. You see, this need is THAT strong.

I believe we are all children of God who have been given certain strengths, weaknesses, and talents, some of which are certainly apparent from early childhood. But isn't it our goal to develop into a whole person?

Astrology and the like have no place in this pursuit. They are simply pseudo-sciences/ religions that sort human beings into neat little piles, 12 to be precise, in order to meet the basic human need of understanding the universe. Ain't nuthin' wrong with that, I know.

But the damage it does can be irreparable and ultimately keeps the precious human spirit from finding his or her true identity and divine nature.