To be a good diagnostician, a physician needs to acquire a large set of labels
\nfor diseases, each of which binds an idea of the illness and its symptoms,
\npossible antecedents and causes, possible developments and consequences, and
\npossible interventions to cure or mitigate the illness. Learning medicine consists
\nin part of learning the language of medicine. A deeper understanding of
\njudgments and choices also requires a richer vocabulary than is available in
\neveryday language. The hope for informed gossip is that there are distinctive
\npatterns in the errors people make. Systematic errors are known as biases, and
\nthey recur predictably in particular circumstances. When the handsome and
\nconfident speaker bounds onto the stage, for example, you can anticipate that the
\naudience will judge his comments more favorably than he deserves. The
\navailability of a diagnostic label for this bias\u2014the halo effect\u2014makes it easier to
\nanticipate, recognize, and understand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"