tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post2512157672465797940..comments2024-03-29T04:06:37.402-07:00Comments on Had Enough Therapy?: What Is the Placebo Effect?Stuart Schneidermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-29594624888501045832018-11-15T17:01:33.250-08:002018-11-15T17:01:33.250-08:00My dad believed in faith healing, and to his last ...My dad believed in faith healing, and to his last days he was a part of a weekly prayer circle that would pray for healing for members or people they knew. I wonder if the placebo effect might be so powerful, that you don't even know anything is being done. Or maybe some people need to hear "We're praying for you." in order for it to have an effect.<br /><br />It's all annoying to me as an agnostic in all respects. Perhaps the placebo effect has statistical significance, but not scientific repeatability, if it depends on individual patient's ability to participate in a social ritual of attentive belief.<br /><br />I suppose given placebos are generally cheap, we might say any time there is no harm in delaying more invasive procedures, why not use placebos first, and why not try a dozen different placebo systems from prayer to therapeutic touch to sugar pills before trying methods of objective medicine that doesn't care about the mental states of the patients? And since we'll never really figure out a system to predict what will work, why not do a dozen placebos all at once, and not care which one works?<br /><br />The possibilities are endless for "alternative medicines". Let's just make sure to keep them all reasonably priced, and they should not be able to promise results. Or if they do, they can say "This only works on true believers" and let the buyers beware.Ares Olympushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09726811306826601686noreply@blogger.com