Language provides us with names to categorise the world and becomes more sophisticated with use. Classification of everyday things comes naturally but we have a variable appreciation of our blind spots. If a neurologist were to try to distinguish between insects, most would probably apply a limited classification of flies (flies or bluebottles) not appreciating the diversity of species. However, when looking at butterflies, they would quickly realise they lacked the knowledge to name the many clearly distinct types. There is a parallel in how neurological diagnoses are applied, which also come with blind spots. Dementia is a widely used term. The lay press often uses it as a synonym for the most common cause, Alzheimer’s disease, and typically presents the diagnosis as binary, someone has it or they don’t. This simplified approach has crept into medicine too, with a diagnosis of dementia being based on a score in a standardised test, such as the Folstein …

中文翻译：

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本期亮点

语言为我们提供了对世界进行分类的名称，并且随着使用变得更加复杂。日常事物的分类是自然而然的，但我们对自己的盲点有不同的认识。如果神经学家试图区分昆虫，大多数人可能会应用有限的苍蝇分类（苍蝇或青蝇），而不了解物种的多样性。然而，当看到蝴蝶时，他们很快就会意识到他们缺乏命名许多明显不同类型的知识。在如何应用神经学诊断方面存在相似之处，但也存在盲点。痴呆症是一个广泛使用的术语。非专业媒体经常将其用作最常见原因阿尔茨海默病的同义词，并且通常将诊断呈现为二元性，有人有或没有。