Philosophy
You're probably familiar with the concept of the placebo effect: you pretend to provide some sort of treatment to a patient (sugar pill, saline shot, shaman chicken dance, homeopathic elixir, etc.), and because there is no actual medicine or treatment, there should be no improvement in the patient's physical condition... except there is, and there's the rub and the mystery...
Scientists have been studying the placebo effect systematically since at least the time when illustrious men of science like Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier (check out more of his amazing work here and here) investigated the claims surrounding Franz Anton Mezmer's ability to harness "animal magnetism." The magnetism part turned out to be a sham, but it revealed the power of the placebo effect, as well as just how suggestible the human brain can be.
The more we look into the mystery of this phenomenon, the more interesting it gets, and here is Ben Goldacre with a hilarious and enlightening account of just how powerful this effect is, as well as the cruel, but hilarious uses to which it can be put :)
I'm going to have to see in how many of my friends I can induce asthma attacks...
Click here for the 'full treatment' on homeopathy, and here for the 'diluted' but hilarious version :)
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- Placebos, Doctors, And Patients
We know that the placebo effect is real. Some people will actually get better if they think they are being treated. It is not that they think they're getting better, they actually are. So, if I am ill and my doctor thinks that given what he knows...
- Passing The Plate: Smart Joke Edition
Friends, Today is Einstein's birthday and in his honor, let's pass the plate. Other religions asks for monetary donations, but Comedists tithe jokes. So, for uncle Albert, let's do smart jokes of any variety. My favorite new physics joke:...
- Placebos And Autonomy
A new study finds that about half of American doctors prescribe placebos for their patients. In order for the placebo effect to work, the patient must believe that the prescribed treatment is generally effective, something the doctor knows to be false....
- Ben Goldacre - Battling Bad Science
It's hard to understate the number of misleading health reports and health advice out there. First there's the problem of alternative-medicine quacks (visit the Enemies of Reason tag to learn more about them); then there are also problems with...
- Paul Bloom - Essentialism And The Origins Of Pleasure
If I tried to sell you the painting to the right for a hefty sum, I'm pretty sure you'd think it wasn't worth your time, or that I was trying to pull your leg. Never mind the artistic talent and effort that indubitably went into the piece,...
Philosophy
Ben Goldacre - The Placebo and Nocebo Effects
Scientists have been studying the placebo effect systematically since at least the time when illustrious men of science like Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier (check out more of his amazing work here and here) investigated the claims surrounding Franz Anton Mezmer's ability to harness "animal magnetism." The magnetism part turned out to be a sham, but it revealed the power of the placebo effect, as well as just how suggestible the human brain can be.
The more we look into the mystery of this phenomenon, the more interesting it gets, and here is Ben Goldacre with a hilarious and enlightening account of just how powerful this effect is, as well as the cruel, but hilarious uses to which it can be put :)
I'm going to have to see in how many of my friends I can induce asthma attacks...
Click here for the 'full treatment' on homeopathy, and here for the 'diluted' but hilarious version :)
.
- Placebos, Doctors, And Patients
We know that the placebo effect is real. Some people will actually get better if they think they are being treated. It is not that they think they're getting better, they actually are. So, if I am ill and my doctor thinks that given what he knows...
- Passing The Plate: Smart Joke Edition
Friends, Today is Einstein's birthday and in his honor, let's pass the plate. Other religions asks for monetary donations, but Comedists tithe jokes. So, for uncle Albert, let's do smart jokes of any variety. My favorite new physics joke:...
- Placebos And Autonomy
A new study finds that about half of American doctors prescribe placebos for their patients. In order for the placebo effect to work, the patient must believe that the prescribed treatment is generally effective, something the doctor knows to be false....
- Ben Goldacre - Battling Bad Science
It's hard to understate the number of misleading health reports and health advice out there. First there's the problem of alternative-medicine quacks (visit the Enemies of Reason tag to learn more about them); then there are also problems with...
- Paul Bloom - Essentialism And The Origins Of Pleasure
If I tried to sell you the painting to the right for a hefty sum, I'm pretty sure you'd think it wasn't worth your time, or that I was trying to pull your leg. Never mind the artistic talent and effort that indubitably went into the piece,...