通過在一個領域（即物理環境）創造秩序來減少另一領域（即我們的大腦）混亂的奇妙之處在於，它甚至與擺脫我們腦海中聲音的特定問題沒有任何關係。這就是為什麼給環境強加秩序如此有用——這麼做總是很容易的。將此付諸實踐的價值令人印象深刻。比如，一個實驗表明，僅僅閱讀把世界描述為有序之地的內容就能減少焦慮。不出所料，研究表明，生活在貧民社群的人——比如芝加哥的羅伯特·泰勒公寓，也可能是蘇珊娜·博特在伊拉克工作過的地區——更容易抑鬱，部分是因為他們感知到了周圍環境的混亂。
在當代文化中，許多人將過度頻繁地規範周圍環境的嘗試視為一種病態。想想那些有強迫症的人吧，他們有把事情安排得井然有序的強烈動機。這項關於補償控制的研究表明，這些人可能只是把為了獲得控制感而在周圍建立秩序的強烈願望升至極端。即使缺乏約束，他們的行為也有邏輯可循。
強迫症之所以成為一種有害的心理障礙，是因為患者對環境秩序的過度需求干擾了他們正常的日常生活。同樣，對秩序的需求也會讓我們在更大的社交環境中失去控制。只要看看最近在網上氾濫的陰謀論就知道了，其中混亂和動盪的事件都被歸因於邪惡勢力的神秘（和有序）的計劃。在這種情況下，人們通過敘事機制獲取秩序，但往往會損害他人（畢竟，陰謀通常是假的，並且建立在缺乏證據的基礎上）。
關於我們對秩序的需求，以及大自然和敬畏感的有益之處的研究清楚地表明我們的物理環境與思想交織得多麼緊密。它們是同一條掛毯的一部分。我們根植於物理空間中，這些空間的不同特徵會啟用我們內在的心理力量，影響我們的思考和感受。現在我們不僅知道了自己為什麼會被周圍環境的不同特徵吸引，也知道了該如何主動做出選擇，才能獲益更多。
2007年，羅伯特·泰勒公寓的最後一處住宅被拆除。這裡的所有居民早就搬走了，這個曾是城市衰敗、種族隔離和社會混亂著名象徵的地方，將會被開發成一個由混合收入家庭、零售和社群空間組成的新型綜合體。這樣一種積極有序的轉變可能會讓那些還記得這裡曾經是犯罪和暴力之家的人心生敬畏。
雖然我們並不確定新建築是否會以利於居民健康的方式將綠色空間融入設計，但最初的綜合體留下的遺產仍然在芝加哥城市史和科學史中迴盪。這個經久不衰的案例不僅說明了環境在塑造我們思想、感受和行為方面發揮了怎樣的關鍵作用，也證明了從自身利益出發積極控制環境的重要性。
雖然環境有這麼大的力量，但我們並不僅僅從它和填滿它的事物中獲得心理上的解脫。正如我們看到的有必要實施的控制一樣，我們身處的環境之中還有一些特定的事情可以幫助我們駕馭腦海中的聲音，但像納達爾那樣賦予其秩序只是個開端。我們使用的方法經常那麼奇怪，效果又如此強烈，以至於它幾乎像魔法一樣神奇。
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並非所有被診斷為強迫症的人都有在周圍環境中建立秩序的動力：miguelfullana,「obsessionsandcompulsionsinthecommunity:prevalence,interference,help-seeking,developmentalstability,andco-occurringpsychiatricconditions,」americanjournalofpsychiatry166(2009):329-336.
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