The Study of How Labeling Brings Comfort While Also Restricting Freedom — The moment you say, 'Oh, this is just like so-and-so,' you feel a little relieved. But at the same time, you realize you've lost sight of the possibilities beyond that. [Column] The Science of Thought (No. 90)

🧠 Three things you can learn from this column

• Learn to articulate the 'comfort mechanism' of labeling
  Why does the 'labeling' we do every day create such a sense of relief? We gently unravel the psychological and mathematical structure behind it.

• Become aware of the 'quiet restriction' created by labels
  Through the specific structure (factorization) of how labeling narrows our choices and relationships with others without us noticing, you will gain an opportunity to rethink the 'patterns of assumptions' held by yourself and those around you.

• Gain a perspective that nurtures sensitivity toward 'things that have no name'
  We look at emotions, relationships, and ourselves that cannot be defined immediately—the 'strength of leaving things undefined'—and touch upon the gentle hope that we can live perfectly well even if we let go of labels.

■ Introduction | Where does labeling exist in our lives?

This time, the theme is a bit 'unsettling.'

Labeling—.

It is a technique of 'assessment' that we use as a matter of course every day.
By naming, classifying, and assigning meaning to people and things, we understand, feel comfortable with, and learn to deal with a complex world.

In fact, without it, we might not be able to sustain language, society, or even daily life.
That is how deeply rooted labeling is as a 'tool for living.'

But sometimes, I want to stop and think.
'I felt relieved because there was a label, so why do I feel somewhat constrained?'

• Even though I applied the label myself, I find I can no longer remove it.

• I end up acting in accordance with labels others have placed on me.

• I pretend not to notice that a label I applied long ago no longer fits who I am now.

I suspect everyone has felt that sense of discomfort at least once.

In this column, I would like to re-examine the familiar act of labeling while
deconstructing it mathematically, sensitively, and gently.

However, whether we 'use' it or are 'bound' by it makes a huge difference in our actions, thoughts, and possibilities.

With that feeling in mind, let’s start by re-examining the question, “What is the purpose of labeling?” together.

■ Chapter 1 | The Efficacy of Labeling: How Comfort Is Born

🧠 Why does “naming” bring comfort?

The human brain is not good at dealing with things it doesn’t understand. When we encounter an ambiguous subject, such as “What is this?” or “How should I handle this?”, signals of attention, caution, and fatigue race through the brain.

At such times, we give the subject a name.
By classifying it as “this is such-and-such,” we can recognize the subject as
“something manageable” and feel at ease.

🔍 The 3 Factors of Labeling Comfort: A Factorization Model

The sense of security brought by labeling can be structured as follows:

$${\text{Sense of Security} = A (Compressibility) \times B (Classifiability) \times C (Predictability)}$$

The sense of security brought by labeling consists of the following three elements:

• A: Compressibility
  The ability to compress complex and vague information into a single, easy-to-understand word.
  → Example: “There’s a lot going on, but in short, it’s ‘burnout’,” “He is a ‘science-type guy’.”

• B: Classifiability
  The ability to make it easier to handle yourself or others by grouping them as similar things.
  → Example: “You’re sensitive because you’re an HSP,” “That person is also Type B.”

• C: Predictability
  The ability to predict future behavior or reactions to some extent based on the label.
  → Example: “Let’s speak slowly to the shy child at first.”

By multiplying these three factors, labeling simultaneously provides “organization of information,” “meaning-making,” and “foresight.”
That is the mechanism of comfort that turns the “unknown” into the “known.”

✅ Three reasons why labeling creates comfort:

1. Uncertainty decreases (entropy reduction)

2. Processing load decreases (energy-saving thinking)

3. A common language is born (social sharing)

📦 Labels are “compressed files” for thought

For example, suppose you move to an unfamiliar place.
The local area, the vibe of the people, the atmosphere at school or work—everything is unknown and unsettling.

In such times, having labels like “laid-back” for this town or “hands-off type” for this boss makes it easier to cope.
From this compressed information, you can judge how to behave or what kind of distance to maintain.

🤝 Labeling is also a tool for empathy and translation

In this way, labels also serve as a common language. By expressing complex personal traits or states with a single label, it becomes easier to convey them to others and gain empathy.

Labels also function as important tools that facilitate smooth information sharing in practical settings such as medicine, education, and the workplace.

💡 Labeling is the “starting point of comfort”

Labels are the starting line for our understanding and coping.
In other words, by “understanding,” we become capable of action, and by “predicting,” we find calm.

It is like a port where you can temporarily dock in a rough sea.
You step ashore, organize the situation, and think about how to steer the rudder next.

That is why using labels is not bad. In fact, it is necessary.
There is only one problem—

In the next chapter, I would like to consider the “quiet lack of freedom” caused by labels, which can be called the “side effect” of this comfort.

■ Chapter 2 | When that comfort becomes a “boundary”

Labels bring us comfort.
By naming something “this is X,” meaning is born in an ambiguous world, and it becomes easier to act.
That is undoubtedly wisdom nurtured by human evolution.

However—.

🧠 The Structure of Restriction: The “Quiet Binding Force” Seen Through Factorization

The restriction caused by labels is not an overt constraint, but rather a
“narrowing of possibilities” that spreads gradually.

If we express this through factorization, it looks like the following equation:

$${\text{Degree of Restriction} \propto Self-Limitation + Others' Expectations + Suspension of Judgment + Fixed Relationships + Denial of Change}$$

I would like to examine how each of these elements works as follows.

① Self-Limitation: “Because I am this kind of person”

• Mathematical model: $${f(X)=L⇒X′⊂L}$$
  (As a result of applying label L to subject X, X'—the set of that person's actions and choices—is reduced according to L)

• Example: “I am an HSP, so I cannot push myself.”

• Once you fix a label as an “identity,” you unconsciously avoid actions and choices that do not fit the label.
  

② Others' Expectations: “You’re that kind of person, right?”

• Mathematical model: $${f_{others}(X)=L⇒R(L)}$$
  (The label L applied by others evokes a role R, and one ends up trying to behave accordingly)

• Example: “You’re the eldest son, so be responsible.”

• You end up playing the “character” expected of you based on the label applied by others.

• The degree of freedom in your own emotions and actions becomes defined within the confines of others' labels.

③ Suspension of Judgment: “Settling for a certain type”

Mathematical model: $${\nabla f(X) = 0}$$
(The gradient of thought is zero ⇒ neither change nor updates occur)

Example: “That person is the “logical type,” so emotions won't get through to them.”

A state where, by giving a label to a subject, thought stops because “there is no need to think anymore.” When the process of thought ($${\nabla f(X)}$$) becomes zero,
updates regarding that person or matter cease to occur.

④ Fixing Relationships: “This person is nothing more than a ‘subordinate.’”

Mathematical model: $${Rel(X, Y) = Const.}$$
(Relationships are turned into constants ⇒ dynamic changes in relationships are ignored)

Example: “My junior colleague is just a ‘person who waits for instructions.’”

Human relationships are inherently dynamic things that can change depending on time and circumstances. However, once role labels like “superior ⇔ subordinate,” “parent ⇔ child,” or “teacher ⇔ student” are applied,
they tend to be perceived as absolute and static structures.

⑤ Denying Change: “It’s always been this way, so it’s probably impossible.”

• Mathematical model: $${f_t​(X)=Const.}$$
  (A state where labels remain fixed without changing over time. A function that denies change.)

• Example: “I’ve been bad at public speaking since I was a student, so at this point...”

• When a label originates from the “past,” it makes “changing” psychologically difficult.

• The power of the label even dominates the “time axis.”

🧩 The degree of freedom changes depending on how you use labels

So, how should we handle the lack of freedom caused by labeling?

What is important is the perspective that “labels are temporary, and depending on how you use them, they can either be liberating or restrictive.”

🌱 Practicing the awareness of “separating yourself from your labels”

For example, I would like you to try asking yourself these questions in your daily life.

• “Is this current label really still necessary?”

• “Is this a label I applied myself? Or was it placed on me by someone else?”

• “Am I allowed to exist outside of this label?”

It is okay not to have an answer.
The very act of questioning again serves as a stretch to keep your thinking flexible.

Are the words you have applied to yourself
trapping your own potential?
If so, it might be worth having the courage to gently untie them.

In the next chapter, we will step away from the word “label” for a moment
and move toward a perspective that accepts “the unnameable” as it is.
There are things that only become visible because we do not put them into words—
let’s explore that “undefined sensibility” together.

■ Chapter 3 | Focusing on the “undefined margins” outside of labels

In Chapter 1, we looked at “comfort” as the benefit of labeling.
In Chapter 2, we saw how those labels can create a “quiet sense of restriction.”

So, what is the realm that belongs to neither of those, “outside the name”?

In other words, it is a perspective for gently coexisting with “uncertainty” and “indeterminacy.”

🌀 Outside the label = “The intelligence of leaving things undefined”

When we try to understand something, we tend to think, “Let’s name it first.”
But sometimes, the choice to “leave it unknown” is also a form of mature intelligence.

Here, I would like to organize the value of holding an “undefined” state as it is, without applying labels, using the following factorization:

$${\text{Value of the Undefined} = \text{Potential for Change} \times \text{Room for Interpretation} \times \text{Creativity}}$$

• Potential for Change: Because it is not fixed, it is open to the future

• Room for Interpretation: New meanings are born every time you look at it or engage with it

• Creativity: Because it is not prescribed, you can create your own meaning

🎨 Art, and people, are attractive because they are undefined

For example, when you encounter abstract art or poetry.
Have you ever had the experience of thinking, “I don’t really get it, but I kind of like it”?

That is precisely the power of “the charm of the unnameable.” Because it is undefined,
there is a blank space where you can freely perceive it in your own way.

Relationships with others are the same.
“Best friend,” “lover,” “comrade-in-arms”...
Even without such labels, there is certainly “something” there.
Sometimes, that is enough.

🔄 The “Open Self” Expressed in a Formula

If labeling is “$${f(X) = the defined self}$$”,
then the undefined self is this:

$${f(X) = ?}$$

The state of being able to stand proudly while remaining this “?” is not strength, but
flexibility.

“I don’t know yet.”
“Perhaps there is also this side to me.”

By maintaining this “margin for change,” one can remain a being that is always capable of being updated.

🌱 The Choice Not to Fear the Unnamed

There are many things in this world that do not need to be named.

• Likes and dislikes that cannot be explained

• Relationships with ambiguous standing

• Dreams and feelings of discomfort that have not yet taken shape

The strength to dare not label them and to say, “I don’t know yet.”
That is also an attitude that values exploration over immediate answers.

In the next chapter, while looking back on what we have covered so far, I would like to think about
“the right distance” from labels. Without denying or affirming labeling, let us connect to a perspective of
“living together.”

■ Summary | Labels are tools to be mastered. Let’s keep them in our pockets as we walk.

Up to this point, I have introduced the everyday act of labeling:
- In Chapter 1, from the perspective of “comfort,”
- In Chapter 2, from the structure of “lack of freedom,”
- In Chapter 3, from the meaning of “undefined margins,”
and in the introduction, as a question that connects them all.

🧭 A label is a “map,” not a “destination.”

Labeling is a “navigation tool” for our thinking and communication.
However, it is merely a “provisional map.”
If you rely on the map so much that you forget to walk on your own two feet, you’ve missed the point entirely.

📎 You can peel them off, reapply them, or swap them out at any time.

You don’t have to follow a label forever just because you applied it once.
A label is your “provisional cover,” not the “main text” itself.

• “This is what I think for now.”

• “This doesn’t fit who I am anymore.”

• “Maybe I’ll try taking this label off for a while.”

By changing how you handle these small labels in ways like this,
a gentle sense of freedom should gradually return to both your thoughts and your actions.

🫧 Not being bound by labels does not mean denying them.

What I have consistently wanted to convey in this column is not,
“Don’t use labels.”
Rather, labeling is a very effective tool for comfort and empathy.

That is precisely why,

🤝 A final word: Wishing you the “freedom” of labels.

Perhaps your current labels were applied by someone else.
Or perhaps they were applied to you by your former self.

But whether any of them are necessary for your “future” is something

you yourself get to decide.

This column was written utilizing ChatGPT.It is also an experiment in how far we can open up our “ability to verbalize thoughts” and “ability to deepen inquiries” through collaboration with generative AI.

If, as you read this, a feeling has sprouted within you like,
“I feel like I’ve become a little kinder to labels,”
or “Maybe I’ll try believing in my own possibilities a little more,”
then I am very happy.

💬 Please do share how you think about “how to get along with labels.”
Your likes, follows, and comments are a great encouragement for my future creative work.

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

🧭Thinking Navigator

Biography:Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Engineering) ⇒ Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (Production Technology) ⇒ Advertising sales for a local free paper in Nagasaki Prefecture ⇒ University staff member (← Currently here). In my 50s, living in Nagasaki Prefecture. Both of my children have left the nest to attend university, and I live with my wife.
I am a writer who lets my thoughts play daily at the intersection of “questions” and “curiosity.” Recently, I have been writing about my own unique perspectives on themes such as education, storytelling, psychology, AI, and design, centered on my serialized column series, “The Science of Thought.” I am exploring “free knowledge design” that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is “Imagination opens up the world.”
In my professional life, while working in university and education-related roles, I value carefully observing “the moment someone starts to ‘like’ something” and “the scenes where questions begin to sprout.”
🧭 I would be happy if I could deliver articles that leave you with one “new perspective” after reading them.
📮 Impressions and messages of support are always welcome!