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How Placebos Really Work

• dasil003 17y ago
  What I want to know is how increased scientific knowledge about, and widespread understanding of the placebo effect will affect the placebo effect.
  • ovi256 17y ago
    Not at all, if you do not know it's a placebo.
    • cousin_it 17y ago
      Widespread understanding of the effect could increase your prior credence that you've been given a placebo.
• frossie 17y ago
  As we understand the power of placebo better, we will have to tackle the inevitable struggle of medical ethics. Is it okay for a doctor to lie to you and say "this blue pill is a new breakrthough, much better than the red pill you were taking before" when the active ingredient in both pills is identical? Even if she knows that you are much more likely to get better after her little story than if she said/did nothing? It's a toughie.
• ericb 17y ago
  I always wondered--could placebos be an indicator that we have a latent power over our bodies that we don't understand? Meaning, could everything placebos accomplish be duplicated with direct control via meditation, or bio feedback. Not that you'd really know if it was working, or just the placebo effect...