The Powerful Placebo! Mind over matter...right? WRONG. There's no magical placebo effect despite what quack Homeopaths or credulous reporters tell you

The common understanding of the "Placebo effect" is that a fake pill or treatment can heal you if you believe it's a real medicine. WRONG.
Placebo can only affect if someone feels there's been an improvement while in all objective measures there is no effect.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Graylight · 51-55, F

There most definitely is, and it's the subject of a huge body of research. It's extraordinary enough to be used as a comparison for Peter study subjects.

Its effectiveness, duration and other particulars are variable, but it can indeed be measured.

Pikachu

@Graylight

Can it be measured in any objective outcome or only when the outcome measure is subjective and self reported?

Graylight · 51-55, F

@Pikachu Not the threshold for scientific significance.

Pikachu

@Graylight

No indeed.
That's because what people generally call the placebo effect appears to be explained not by an actual, physiological, mind over matter type phenomenon but rather is accounted for by a collection of biases, reporting errors and known behaviour of disease.