>I, for one think that, "understanding manipulation" is an oxymoron. If you really understand then it's not really manipulation, right? It sounds like someone

>I, for one think that, "understanding manipulation" is an oxymoron. If you really understand then it's not really manipulation, right? It sounds like someone never teared up at the moment when the music swells in a sappy dramatic movie. The human brain is weird. We can know we are receiving a placebo and still receive a benefit from the placebo effect[1]. Just because we can understand that we are being manipulated doesn't mean we can fully control it. [1] - https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/placebos https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/placebos