Judgment day at Planet Fitness
My hotel in NYC has a decent gym, but I was looking for something more. So I visited the Planet Fitness right on the same block. I'd never been to a Planet Fitness before, but right away I noticed something odd. "Judgement free zone," is plastered all over the place. It's on the walls and every piece of equipment --pretty much everywhere.Back in the day (before spell checkers) I was a good speller. I did well in the spelling bee at summer camp as a kid. (I didn't win, because I got nervous and misspelled the word "recommend," even though I knew better.) Still, I can usually spot a typo, and I didn't think the American version needed that extra "e."Sure enough, Easy Street blogged about this very topic five years ago.
Misspellings provoke judgment from readers who catch errors. However, as with most misspellers, Planet Fitness had moved on. According to a spokesperson, “Spelling judgement with an ‘e’ started out as a mistake. Back in 1998 we considered changing it to the traditional spelling, but decided to keep it because it fit with our brand personality—we are judgment free on all matters, so what better way to demonstrate this than by keeping the original incorrect spelling.”
Who really cares? No one.But it did get me thinking about how computerized tools and artificial intelligence can rob us of certain skills and brain function, even a they relieve drudgery and improve quality and consistency. Think about the GPS. On the one hand, it guides me to the optimal route and gives me the confidence to explore unknown areas. On the other hand, I can barely read a map these days or learn new routes on my own.The same problems apply to healthcare providers, and I first wrote about this issue nine years ago: Are decision support tools turning doctors into idiots? If every answer is a click away or embedded into automated decision support tools, it's hard to think for oneself.
By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.