How Emotions Shape Our World. (2)

Are we using data or are we engaging in honest, compassionate communication when we talk to people about their health? More importantly, are we listening? In strong language, a June, 2008 McKinsey Quarterly article, What Consumers Want in Health Care, lays out pretty clearly just how "confused, concerned, and unprepared" people are in the face of not just addressing, but paying for, their own health care.

The new Star Trek movie is largely about world-sized emotions. Emotions add vital texture to the story, bringing weight to Zachary Quinto’s portrayal of young Spock as a sullen if not smoldering Vulcan.






Spock beaming down to Vulcan to save his mom.
Paramount Pictures, 2009

We learn that Vulcans feel things deeply, but have an austere system of logic to control these feelings. They share ancestry with the Romulans, who shrug off any restrictions on emotionality. Nero (Eric Bana) spends decades lurking in a vast, black, nightmarish ship with squid-like tentacles reaching into the darkness, seeking revenge against perceived wrongs.

As health consumers we are feeling hopeless and afraid, lacking the knowledge we need to navigate a vast and confusing universe. When nobody listens to our anger and fear, they likewise grow to become black and all-encompassing.

Science fiction sets up a helpful metaphor for considering a less logical and more emotional way of communicating with people feeling lost and afraid. Actual science, social science in this case, reveals even more.

Anthropology offers insights from our ancient past

What's the most effective way to communicate with someone in this groundless state? Reason with them logically, or acknowledge their emotions?

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