#5: The Semmelweis Reflex

Written By Rayner Jae Liu

Today I want to talk to you about the Semmelweis reflex. 👨🏻‍⚕️

The Semmelweis reflex, or "Semmelweis effect," is a metaphor for the reflex-like tendency to reject new evidence or new knowledge because it contradicts established beliefs or norms.

The term comes from the story of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician who more or less introduced the idea of hand washing in the 1800s. His story illustrates one of the greatest challenges that activists deal with: talking sense to people who won't listen.

Ready to deconstruct some biases? Let's dive in.

When the Ego Rejects Evidence

The Story of Dr. Semmelweis

Activists often act as the canary in the coal mine—but often bump up against denial, deflection, and disbelief. The Semmelweis reflex explains why people reject the new, even when the truth is obvious.

Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was an assistant physician in the maternity department of the Vienna General Hospital, the largest medical institution in the Austro-Hungarian capital in the 1840s. At the time, it was a center at the forefront of European science, where doctors cared for patients and performed autopsies on every patient who died as a standard practice to learn more about the human body.

Semmelweis was horrified to discover that in his department, where doctors and medical students worked, the number of women dying of childbed fever was alarmingly high. At times, almost 1 in 3 women died while giving birth. But in hospitals where midwives delivered babies, maternal deaths from childbed fever were three times less likely.

Why would doctors be three times as deadly as midwives? Semmelweis correctly suspected what germ theory would explain years later: doctors and students working on cadavers and other patients were transmitting pathogens to women in childbirth. After ordering doctors to wash their hands and disinfect them and their instruments with chlorine, the mortality rate dropped to 1.27%.

Here's where things got dicey: Semmelweis received little support from his colleagues. He was rejected and mocked by the medical establishment because he hit a nerve. Physicians at the time, and even physicians now, could not accept the idea that they were the cause of death and illness. Unable to check their bias, they dismissed him from the hospital and excluded him from the medical community. It wasn't until Louis Pasteur further developed the germ theory of disease, years after Semmelweis died, that Semmelweis' practice started to gain widespread acceptance. Many people died unnecessarily.

Why Activists Need This Idea

Last week, the World Health Organization announced the "end" of the SARS-2 global health emergency, days after continuing to discuss the continued spread of the disease. Hospitals the world over are dropping mask mandates when dealing with cancer patients while the disease continues to spread and governments stop collecting data.

Today, "wear a mask" is the new "wash your hands." Many people today are dying and becoming disabled unnecessarily because SARS-2 introduced an idea that was offensive to most humans: that they wouldn't have to think about how their actions affect others and could carry on with their previous way of being without consequence.

It happens beyond the ongoing COVID pandemic, though, and extends into many domains, where people's pre-existing beliefs make them resistant to new evidence to the contrary. Activists can recognize that this has been a problem throughout history in many domains. Once we understand the problem, we can more easily create solutions.​

The Takeaway

The Semmelweis reflex occurs because people are afraid to be wrong. They are invested in a particular story, and unless they have completed the adequate training to consider and follow through with alternative possibilities, they risk reinforcing the preexisting behaviors and paradigms even if they are harmful or no longer useful.

Here are some reflections that can help us overcome this distortion:

  • First, let's check ourselves. In which areas of life do we have our own Semmelweis reflex? Even prison abolitionist Angela Davis had this reaction when she found out she had ancestors who came to America on the Mayflower. Watch her reaction here.

  • When we run into someone who is having this kind of reflex, what kind of story is underneath their reaction? I wrote an essay about the stories we believe and how they create mass psychosis at the social level. Get a step-by-step walkthrough to understand how to analyze and deconstruct stories here.

  • If someone is stuck in a particular story, how can we shepherd them toward a new story? This is an opportunity to consider some of the previous concepts I've shared and how they can contribute to new thinking and behavior change.

Many of the world's seemingly intractable problems continue because once someone experiences the reflex, they double down on the old forms. By understanding and overcoming what drives people towards these reactions of denial, deflection, and disbelief, we can help ourselves and each other create the world we really want.​

News and Resources

This week, I'm doing some mutual aid: through Mother's Day, I'll be donating 40% of proceeds from all source code sessions to a community member dealing with unexpected expenses. If you or someone you know is looking to cultivate more self-trust, here's the full Twitter thread explaining what you receive and how it works.

My books are also open to new coaching clients. I help new paradigm leaders achieve authentic alignment and own their power through 1:1 coaching and customized development programs. If you're curious about what it involves, you can reply with any questions or learn more.

Finally, here are some offerings, essays, and tweets you might like:

That’s all for now! Did anything stand out to you? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Otherwise, see you in the next issue.

To health,
Rayner

Rayner Jae Liu
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#4: Neuroception