The way we define things and how we name them determine how we
view the world and, as a result, how we act and treat one
another. Modern neuroscience shows that human perceive not the
thing itself but a copy, an illusion created by the human brain,
a copy that is as created by mental beliefs and attitudes as
much as it is generated by energies in the physical world.
Things are not as they appear, and how things appear can change
over time. A story I heard today on the radio show “This
American Life” illustrates how powerful definitions are and what
it can take to change them. “204: 81 Words,” covers the history
of how the American Psychiatric Association (APA) decided in
1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness. It’s
about both the power of a family story and a social label,
artfully and informatively told by National Public Radio
reporter Alix Spiegel. The story’s professional theme shows how
the 81 words in American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder