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Placebo Button
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- jakobegger 11y agoI already feel much better after pressing the button.
- jakemoshenko 11y agoInteresting way to collect data on what problems people have in their lives that they want fixed.
- SlyShy 11y agoReminds me of a brain hack I employ. Intentionally worshipping Placebo as a god makes me laugh, thus activating his miraculous healing powers: http://zencephalon.com/placebo http://zencephalon.com/placebo
- egypturnash 11y agoThis is beautiful and I may have to start calling upon Placebo now an then.
- SlyShy 11y agoOh, wow, U made The Tarot of the Silicon Dawn? Beautiful deck!
- egypturnash 11y agoYep! Glad you like it, thanks! These days I'm mostly busy with a graphic novel: http://egypt.urnash.com/rita/ http://egypt.urnash.com/rita/
- flycaliguy 11y agoReminds me of Bokononism a bit.
- gorn 11y agoThis is a great blog!
- ph0rque 11y agoI typed, "make me a millionaire" and it didn't work :(.
- shocks 11y agoCome back and click it again tomorrow.
- to3m 11y agoIt didn't work yet.
- tilsammans 11y agoYou're supposed to type "I am a millionaire". That'll do it.
- ph0rque 11y agoDid that, checked my bank account, still nothing :(.
- tromp 11y agoI typed "improve click count" and it worked like a charm. But then I tried "cure RSI" and hundreds of clicks later it only seemed to have gotten worse...
- stdbrouw 11y agoOn the other hand there's http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200105243442106 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200105243442106, a meta-analysis which shows that while placebos might make people feel better, you don't actually get better – which is about what you'd expect and probably not shocking to most of you... but you'd be surprised at the mystical powers that are sometimes ascribed to placebos.
- kevinmchugh 11y agoChoose your own well-researched 'tokenadult rejection of placebo efficacy here: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=comment&query=author:tokenadult%20placebo https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=...
- GFischer 11y agoHaha, great link. He really does have an axe to grind.
- oliwary 11y agoInteresting. I wonder if this is affected by the recent discovery of the tube connecting the immune system to the brain though?
- igravious 11y agoYou jest? If not, explain or source? Thx
- oaktowner 11y agoNot advocating for its veracity, but [1]. [1] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601122445.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601122445.ht...
- rlb13 11y agoI didn't bother to look up the primary literature, but check Scientific American, March 2015, article by Kevin Tracey, pp. 30-35. As always, don't blame the named author for all the fluff added for the general reader.
- igravious 11y agoYou jest? If not, explain or source? Thx
- gus_massa 11y agoI agree. I will just to copy one sentence of the first comment of tokenadult: > [...] In actual practice, placebos only look effective when the statistical tests in a study are poor, and most especially when the symptoms are self-reported by patients. Placebos are NOT effective in treating actual disease states or improving "hard endpoints" such as reduction of all-cause mortality or major morbidity from specific diseases with verifiable physiological signs. [links with support information]
- gjm11 11y agoThere are lots of actual placebo buttons out there in the world on pedestrian crossings, elevators, etc.; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_button https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_button for an overview.
- cosarara97 11y agoPlacebo buttons in pedestrian crossing street lights are plain evil. Also, https://xkcd.com/277/ https://xkcd.com/277/
- giarc 11y agoBut also not 100% the case. Where I live (Calgary, AB) most cross walk signals are only activated by pressing the button. If you don't press the button, you just get the orange hand the whole time.
- dorfsmay 11y agoTrue, and same with the button to keep the door open in elevators. Both where huge surprises to me when I moved here.
- rorykoehler 11y agoAfter discovering this it has become a habit to check elevator buttons to see if they are real or placebo.
- gulbrandr 11y agoWhy so much code for a single button? <table id="btn_table" style="padding-bottom:10px" height="300" width="300"> <tbody><tr><td style="cursor:pointer; background-image: url(img/button.png); background-repeat:no-repeat;" onclick="pushbutton()" height="300" align="center" valign="middle"> <table height="250" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="250"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="middle"><span id="btn_text" style="width:250px; word-wrap:break-word; color:#ffffff; text-align:center; font-family: Arial bold, Helvetica, sans serif; font-size:36px"></span></td></tr></tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table>
- Reedx 11y agoBecause they're not a web developer?
- randytayler 11y agoBecause I'm a LAZY web developer.
- quadlock 11y agoI want to be able to send someone a link to a specific button.
- randytayler 11y agohttp://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache http://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache will work now. :)
- moron4hire 11y agoI typed in "cure my headache", clicked the button, and felt the unmistakable feeling of endorphins flooding my brain. Maybe. Might be mistaken.
- jgmmo 11y agosimilarly, I typed 'cure my migraines' and felt relief at the sight of 'Done!'
- codeshaman 11y agoBrilliant idea and I feel like I've already got what I pressed - "focus". The first thing, of course, is to write a comment on HN and then I'll focus :)). But the concept might just work. People believe in crazy, irrational things and it actually seems to help them, so why not a button which does this ? Here's a story. Last month I've travelled to Romania, which is a beautiful country and one of the main attractions there is the multitude of churches and beautiful monasteries on top of mountains. So I arrived at this monastery where a famous priest was buried and people from all over the country and the world come and visit his grave. They wait for hours in line and eventually they get maybe 30 seconds in front of his grave and they kneel and kiss the cross and make all kinds of wishes. From a rational perspective, what those people are doing is totally absurd - even if the dead priest could manipulate this world from 'the other world', why would people think that in order to be helped they have to kiss his grave ? But I've heard countless stories of miracle cures - cancers, paralysis, etc, after people visited his grave so maybe there is a force at work which helps them, which I think is the force of placebo. Stories like this are abundant all over the world so if you're in the Church of the Digital, a digital button might just be a trigger for some force inside our minds.
- linhchi 11y agoand Nocebo (the opposite) works, too. so i think it's possible that both works, it's just because it happens with our unconscious mind so it's hard to justify or falsify.
- degenerate 11y agoa digital button might just be a trigger for some force inside our minds Yup. Proof of that right here: https://www.reddit.com/r/thebutton/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thebutton/ Oh, wait, the experiment ended? The button finally hit 0! http://www.redditblog.com/2015/06/the-button-has-ended.html http://www.redditblog.com/2015/06/the-button-has-ended.html The game is over? Everyone will go back to their lives? Not quite..... https://www.reddit.com/r/buttonaftermath https://www.reddit.com/r/buttonaftermath
- stavros 11y ago
- jhildings 11y agoIt worked with <marquee> and other HTML tags , not sure if bug or feature :D
- josephmx 11y agoLooks like it just puts HTML onto the page, you can do JavaScript as well at a glance (so long as you add <script></script> and an event to trigger, since pageload already happened)
- iMark 11y ago"Fix my code" has yet to produce a tangible result, but I shan't give up easily! click click ...
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- hamburglar 11y agoI clicked it 3 times so my EV would be 1.
- jMyles 11y ago> That means, if I give you a placebo, and tell you it's a placebo, there's a 1 in 3 chance it will help alleviate symptoms of whatever I say it's for. I've seen this avert bad trips. "This is a coin. It's just a regular coin from my pocket, but I want you to carry, and know that as long as you carry this coin - for the rest of the night - you'll be safe."
- frost_knight 11y agoI've heard of this idea before and it sounds great. But I can think of a hack for it that could make the trip even worse. "This is a coin. It's just a regular coin from my pocket, but I want you to carry, and know that as long as you carry this coin - for the rest of the night - you'll be safe." (lean in close to whisper into the recipient's ear) "But if you lose the coin...if you lose the coin, you're doomed, mate. Completely f*cking doomed."
- socratees 11y agoReminds me of Schrodingers Cat(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat).
- gcb0 11y agoin pro audio equipment, there is often a flashy colored button on the panel, unmarked, that the documentation call the "client button". it does absolutely nothing, and the manufacturer suggest you press it when the client is annoying you for "more weight" or "more color" or some other nonsense.
- nerd_stuff 11y agoThis fake button digital nonsense does nothing for me; I need that fake knob analog placebo effect! It sounds crazy but most sound engineers have accidentally done this to themselves. You tweak a knob, hear the difference, and then noticing the whole channel was muted and wonder what it was that you just heard change.
- disantlor 11y agoThe alarming thing is how that can happen to you over and over and you still you're SURE you'd never fall for it.
- mattdotc 11y agoNot to dismiss what you're saying, but in this case the 'client button' is for tricking the annoying client into thinking you're making a change when you've really done nothing. This is kind of the same idea as throwing in a duck[1] or hairy arms[2]: 1: http://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/ 2: http://www.oliverburkeman.com/blog/posts/the-theory-of-the-hairy-arm-the-tactical-benefits-of-making-deliberate-mistakes http://www.oliverburkeman.com/blog/posts/the-theory-of-the-h...
- mich41 11y agoDigital placebo can work. I was once debugging some issue with my laptop's multimedia buttons driver. I found some tweak which helped: enable the tweak, reboot - works fine, disable tweak, reboot - no go. Tested repeatedly several times. I filed a bug report and received an answer that my tweak absolutely cannot work. The tweak was disabled at the time and the button didn't work. I pressed it again after reading this email and boom - it works. I swear. I figure my mind must have been believing so much in futility of pressing this button that it didn't even bother pushing it all the way down. Scary stuff.
- wkcamp 11y agoI already have begun levitating...In just a few days, I will finally be able to fly--just like Superman.
- synthmeat 11y agoI typed up "Placebo Effect" in the little box, clicked, and - wouldn't you know it - I felt cured from Placebo Effect instantly!
- pestaa 11y agoBut how would you bring it back?
- solox3 11y agoMisinterpreted the question, "what do you want your button to do", and typed "Turn red." Needless to say, it turned red.
- frogpelt 11y ago> Needless to say Ha!
- dmd 11y agoI typed "make it not so quiet in here" and clicked it. It worked!
- bhartzer 11y agoSo if I click it 3 times one of those times my wish will come true? (Well, scientifically speaking?)
- eblume 11y agoThat was just bizarre. Had a stomach ache. Typed 'stomach ache', hit the button. Ache gone. The brain is a strange, strange organ.
- orthecreedence 11y agoLucky you, my sinuses are still plugged.
- paulbaumgart 11y agoI typed in "cure my superstitious beliefs," and it totally worked!!!
- irl_zebra 11y agoThe placebo effect is not a superstitious belief, however, if that's what you're trying to imply. This isn't a tarot card or horoscope button or something. Placebos are legitimate science.
- egypturnash 11y agoOr flip it: Placebos are another face on the basic processes underlying what we call "magic", with all of the "mystical" "woo" removed.
- drewmate 11y agoThat flashing background effect is a little off-putting. At first I thought something was wrong with the fluorescent lights in my office, then I realized I don't have any fluorescent lights in my office...
- myth_buster 11y agoIt would be nice to see the data.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y agoA mechanical button would work even better. Now that's science or at least a hypothesis you could test scientifically.
- firethief 11y agoIs that true? I wonder how the trueness of that has varied over time. At first, who knew what computers could do ("pray, Mr. Babbage..."), then the magic wore off and mechanical buttons were still what got things done, now we're headed for "what's a mechanical button"...
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago'course it's true it's a hypothesis.
- sopooneo 11y agoNoting that some replies here are describing positive results, I wonder if atheist organizations could make use of the principal. Have an understanding that for the one hour every Sunday that you spend together in the while building, you will say things you all acknowledge as nonsense. But keep up the pretense for that hour and do the chants and make the incantations because we find that it makes us feel happier and more looked after. Then stream out the doors at the end to resume our devout denial. Actually, many people may be doing this already.
- danieltillett 11y agoYes they are. I have always thought it would be a good idea to rationally take all the parts of religious and social societies and bring them together in a way that provides everything that religion provides without all the useless and bad ideas. Combine this with technology and you would have a hit.
- jpindar 11y agoThat's what the Unitarian church is supposed to be, I think. I attended a few of their services out of curiosity, and they were similar to church services except there was no mention of religion. Instead of hymns there was classical and folk music, instead of bible readings there were readings from secular literature (Thoreau seemed to be a favorite), and so on. There was a lot of talk about self-improvement, doing volunteer work, etc.
- dragonwriter 11y agoUnitarian-Universalism is a big tent which includes both a (heterodox, from the perspective of mainstream Christianity, which is Trinitarian) branch of Christianity and a diverse array of non-Christian congregations.
- qu4z-2 11y agoSome time last year I read a bit of Religion for Atheists[0] which touched on some of the same contents. I came away with a certain sense of being condescended, but also some interesting ideas along these lines. If you haven't read it, it may be worth looking up at your local library. [0]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_for_Atheists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_for_Atheists
- bshimmin 11y agoI asked it to finish all my client work this week so I could spend more time with my family and also work on my neglected side projects. Looking in git, there are zero new commits, so I'm assuming this didn't work (or the fairies it invokes don't believe in version control, which is equally worrying). 1 star, would not click again.
- morganvachon 11y agoI tried "make the work day go by faster" (I'm currently stuck at the sales desk -- again -- instead of getting real work done, because the lead rep is on vacation -- again). I've been browsing HN for the past 10 minutes of my afternoon break, and it's like the break was over way too soon. So...working, maybe?
- vishalzone2002 11y agoI can't believe this made it to the top of HN. Shouldn't it be Show HN? BTW, did not work for me for that stats.
- randytayler 11y agoI didn't post it to HN. I built the site 2 years ago and somebody else just discovered it. :)
- codazoda 11y agoI wonder if a reminder would work in the same way. Set a recurring reminder on your phone. Dismissing it is your Placebo. The act of swiping that notification off your phone just might fix what ails you.
- asdjoqjeqiow 11y agois this NSA's project???
- ourmandave 11y agoDoes it work if I write a cron job to click the button for me?
- CompanyLaser 11y agoI entered "Self Destruct DO NOT PRESS!" ...FWEW! Just the adrenaline kick I needed.
- femto113 11y agoI tried "Raise my HN Karma". So far nothing.
- fmeyer 11y agoDidn't worked https://i.imgur.com/4ERBby4.png https://i.imgur.com/4ERBby4.png
- ethagknight 11y agoA list of items entered into the Placebo Button would be quite interesting, grouped together by similarities.
- Ryan_Jones 11y agoMake the SEO play here. Create a static link for each button with the text that I type in, so I can link people right to it. Then, with proper title and headings, etc you can probably get some traffic for "random long tail term button"
- randytayler 11y agoLove it. I think I'll implement that.
- larkspur 11y agoI would love to see this feature. My wife gets headaches. A linkable button text allows me to send her a magic "headache relief" button. Much bigger impact than a self-prescribed button.
- randytayler 11y agohttp://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache http://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache works now.
- Hengjie 11y agoI should grow my startup this way. Seems to work!
- rudyl313 11y agoA placebo won't work if you know it's a placebo.
- stordoff 11y agoPlacebos may still work, even if you know it is a placebo - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/dec/22/placebo-effect-patients-sham-drug http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/dec/22/placebo-effec...
- rnhmjoj 11y agoYou think it has cured you even you know it is a placebo because there is a study that says it and you put your faith in it. The study itself is a placebo. A metaplacebo.
- snowwrestler 11y agoAwesome way to build a database of people's biggest problems.
- Dewie3 11y ago> Did you know the Placebo Effect can occur even when you know it's a placebo? It's true. Wait... a meta-placebo? :-)
- BlackLamb 11y agoNow open source the data. :)
- huuu 11y agoI read a story about a guy who changed his password into his next goal. Every day he had to type it and was reminded by his goal. This button might also be a great goal reminder... Edit: https://medium.com/@manicho/how-a-password-changed-my-life-7af5d5f28038 https://medium.com/@manicho/how-a-password-changed-my-life-7...
- larkspur 11y agoI've done that. It's the equivalent of "I love my wife". Guess whose idea it was? :)
- loganlucid 11y agoThis is normal human tendencies and I believe even placebo effect is part of daily routine...which could be changed just as habits...there could be certain chances that it will turn once individual brain to be addictive.....its funny that blackmajic is shifting its platform to software...serious upgrade...
- tripzilch 11y agoit may be "magick", but how is it "black magick"? seems more like a "chaos magick" thing, and they've been exploring the digital side of this for a couple of decades already, since the 90s at least (that I know about).
- loganlucid 11y agoThis is normal human tendencies and I believe even placebo effect is part of daily routine...which could be changed just as habits...there could be certain chances that it will turn once individual brain to be addictive.....its funny that blackmajic is shifting its platform to software...serious upgrade...
- caseysoftware 11y agoI prefer the Ham Button: http://hambutton.com/ http://hambutton.com/
- skidoo 11y agoMy favorite version was this: http://vhemt.org/philrel.htm#button http://vhemt.org/philrel.htm#button
- crimsonalucard 11y agoThis button needs to enable url query parameters so I can send custom buttons to other people.
- randytayler 11y agoLove it. I'm gonna do it. (I made the site a couple years back.)
- egypturnash 11y agoWhat a beautiful piece of magic for rationalists! Really. Go read 'The Camel Rides Again' with an open mind: http://thebaptistshead.co.uk/2007/09/16/the-camel-rides-again-a-primer-in-magick/ http://thebaptistshead.co.uk/2007/09/16/the-camel-rides-agai... (it's short) and consider how this is any different from the methods described there.
- diu_9_geogebra 11y agoI just typed cut your penis, and I hoped it works.
- olympus 11y agoDoing it to yourself isn't so much the placebo effect, but rather autosuggestion. It was created by Émile Coué, who used to tell his patients to tell themselves every morning, "Every day, I am getting better" (in French of course). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autosuggestion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autosuggestion
- joedavison 11y agoThe actual quote is, "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better" (Original: "Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux")
- jtth 11y agoThat sound is fantastic.
- bturn021 11y agoI'm a phd student in marketing and my research is on the placebo effect. Not only does the research back up the idea of a "placebo" button, but also its evil cousin the "nocebo". That is, if you typed in something negative (I.e. This will make my head hurt) then if you are prone to suggestion (as many people are) the. You will feel worse.
- stalker 11y agoIt remind me this: http://gajitz.com/push-button-wait-forever-crosswalk-buttons-are-fake/ http://gajitz.com/push-button-wait-forever-crosswalk-buttons...
- Animats 11y agoSoon to be available for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone. Only $2.50 per month. You can opt out of marketing communications for an extra $3.95 per month.
- firethief 11y agoOr get the Ultra edition for $25 a month. It costs so much so it will work better.
- paweln 11y agoIt is already available for android (I made it). Right now is free (but it might contain additional premium buttons in the future;). If you would like to try it go here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.nadolski.placebobutton https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.nadolski.pl...
- Animats 11y agoWith in-app purchases!
- DrBergie 11y agoHow about hint text in the edit box that changes for each page serve: "I will become a better person" "The neighbors will become less noisy" "I will achieve my goals in life"
- amelius 11y agoI'd like to see the placebo effect correlated with IQ.
- nusbit 11y agomay I ask you how much you make with ads? ( just out of curiosity )
- randytayler 11y agoI built the site; until today I made approximately ZERO dollars. Today I've seen 20k+ hits, and made $60.
- nusbit 11y agoThanks for answering. That's way more than I expected!
- pikachu_is_cool 11y agoI typed "kill me" and it didn't work.
- vinchuco 11y agoNot instantly
- pikachu_is_cool 11y agoI typed "kill me right now" and it didn't work.
- jameshart 11y agoHow can you tell? Do you have 'showdead' turned on?
- jameshart 11y agoHow can you tell? Do you have 'showdead' turned on?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- rsync 11y agoYou can make this very mind-twistingly self-referential ... What if you enter in this phrase: "Pressing this button will cause my placebo effect to go away"
- ghubbard 11y agoSolar eclipse? [0] [0] http://oglaf.com/evensong/ http://oglaf.com/evensong/ Warning: Previous and Next Story pages of linked cartoon are NSFW (cartoon sex) and the linked page might even be NS depending on how prudish your workplace is about language.
- varunjuice 11y agoFocusing illusion states "Nothing In Life Is As Important As You Think It Is, While You Are Thinking About It" I think the Placebo button addresses this, as this is a cause of significant stress in our lives.
- d--b 11y agoThis is great, but I have a feeling that it's not very well executed. For the placebo effect to work you still need to take the pill, which means that you suggest something might happen. Here the reaction time is way too fast, so it's obviously a fluke for the mind. Add a progress bar that simulates a long and non linear process, and I think the effect is going to be much greater.
- koz1000 11y agoSo I had a similar idea a long time ago (when I worked at a gaming company) to put a large illuminated button right on the front panel of the machine, simply labelled: [ LUCK ] ...that did absolutely nothing. It would have (by design) NOT been connected to anything other than lamp power. I'm convinced it would have been a great hit. My colleagues were not as convinced.
- TerryADavis 11y agoMore God for me. I can rule the world. I alone know God.
- charlysisto 11y agoYou probably know the joke (from popstar Zizek) : When a friend of Niels Bohr (quantum theory) goes to his house in the country side he's bewildered by a horse shoe hanging on the great scientific genius's door. When Niels opens the friends asks : "but truly a rational man like you, how could you give any credit to such superstitions" and Niels Bohr answers : "Well I heard that superstition works even if you don't believe in it" Yes I'm amazed by the power of placebo because "it works even if you know its a one/don't believe in it." I actually wrote in the placebo field : "Give me a break". And my God it worked. I felt relieved. Like that weight on my chest just faded away. Although I suspect the fact the button/pill is blue has something to do with it. Anyway who cares... "Give me a steak"
- chris-at 11y agoSo is there a placebo button that supports "force touch" yet? ;)
- flowless 11y agoTyped 'make people stop using javascript'. And it didn't work cause of NoScript :(
- Houshalter 11y agoI wonder if being told that "a placebo works, even though you know it is a placebo", is itself a placebo.
- larkspur 11y agoCould we have a red button, which would be better for "activating" suggestions like increased energy, in addition to the blue button, best for "inhibiting" suggestions like pain relief?
- chx 11y agoCrazy as it sounds but as some/many/most illnesses are psychosomatic just by making yourself believe you'll be healthy you actually will be. This is solid science not some mumbo-jumbo.
- gtrubetskoy 11y agoCan I set the text via a url or query arg, e.g. http://placebobutton.com/?foo+bar http://placebobutton.com/?foo+bar ?
- robbrit 11y agoI've been pushing this all afternoon. Feels great.
- ljk 11y agowhat if by pressing the button you get the feeling of accomplishment without doing any of the work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHopJHSlVo4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHopJHSlVo4
- jlebrech 11y agoI cured aids
- jlebrech 11y agoI cured aids
- larkspur 11y agoMindhacker News.
- _sb1 11y agoIs "placebo works even when its known that its a placebo" a placebo ?
- drvortex 11y agoIt's not the placebo effect working despite the user not having faith in it. By providing the information you do on the web page, you are suggesting (and perhaps convincing) the user that the placebo will work despite being a placebo. Therefore, it might work by a placebo effect on the effectiveness of the placebo. You are placebo-ing the placebo. Inception all over again, eh.
- jobigoud 11y agoWhat if the thing you ask it is to get rid of the irrational mechanisms that makes placebos works on you even though you know they are placebos?
- hyperpallium 11y agoMany ailments have a stress-related component, as the purpose of our stress response is to handle an immediate threat, diverting energy away from long-term tasks like healing, fighting infection etc. A placebo is a reassurance, that we don't need to worry, we are being looked after, protected, safe, and everything will be ok. Thus, the immune system gets its resources back, and gets on with its job. We heal. sorry, no references, just seems a simple explanation of the observed evidence (eg so strong that double-blind experimental design is required to prevent it confounding drug test results).
- bhayden 11y agoI typed that I would be very productive today, and I was more productive than I've been in weeks.
- scottmcdot 11y agoIt would be good if I could pre-write the purpose of the button and email it to a friend.
- Procrastes 11y agoJust at a glance, it doesn't seem to record the requests. This would be a great stealth survey for problems to solve if it saved the requests anonymously.
- jqm 11y agoMost of the requests probably wouldn't be practically solvable (by computers anyway). It would be an interesting survey though.
- Bdiem 11y agoSo, what did I want the button to do? I tried the following with success: "visual changes on press then revert to original state"
- billpg 11y agoI seem to recall an application where the developer inserted a completely pointless delay after clicking the button before reporting completion, because people couldn't quite believe that a computer (or anything) could complete such a big important task in a fraction of a second. Maybe this button should wait a random period of time. Its doing really important work.
- randytayler 11y agoFYI, I added the ability to pass a parameter in, and share your button. So, like, http://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache http://placebobutton.com/?b=Cure%20my%20headache Thanks everybody!