I think this essay is valuable in helping me clarify just what is meant by placebo effects, and their putative biological mechanisms and processes. The argumen

I think this essay is valuable in helping me clarify just what is meant by placebo effects, and their putative biological mechanisms and processes. The arguments should not be summarily dismissed (a lot of thinking and research went into this essay). The arguments should be taken apart and critiqued individually. In particular I agree with the key idea that it is important to critically evsluate the strength of evidence and the strength of experimental designs that favor long-lasting functional placebo effects. If a design is a perfectly implemented triple-blinded study (https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/double-blind-study/ https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/double-blind-study/) in which a reliable outcome measure is significantly affected with a reasonably large effect size—-for example, a Cohen’s d score above 0.2) then the evidence in favor would be pretty compelling (https://www.statology.org/interpret-cohens-d/ https://www.statology.org/interpret-cohens-d/). And very compelling us independently replicated in a second case/control study. But how many studies reach this level? I doubt that there are any in animal model research with which I am more familiar. If “faith and prayer” are regarded as a placebo effect then how much does this reduce the incidence and impact of illness when controlling well for socioeconomic factors? Was COVID severity modulated by said factors (or ivermectin ;-) ?