User:Mr. Stradivarius/Labels are dangerous
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| “ | Once you label me you negate me. | ” |
| — Søren Kierkegaard | ||
| “ | Labels are for cans, not people. | ” |
| — Anthony Rapp | ||
Labels are useful. They help us grasp complex realities quickly, to simplify problems so that they can be more easily solved, and to communicate concepts to others efficiently. They are an essential component of our neurology, and part of what makes us human. But while we use them all the time, not many people realise that labels are dangerous.
Labels are dangerous precisely because they are so easy to understand. We can take a highly complex situation, and simplify it with a label to hide the complexity. In doing so we give ourselves the illusion that we understand the situation perfectly, but in reality the complexity is still there. If we are not careful with our labels they stop being accurate, and an inaccurate label can cause a lot of damage.