Comment · Wed, December 11, 2013 · Ceretropic
A plausible anecdote about placebos
What they were answering
thegrumpyhypnotist · 2 points
What I find very fascinating is the fact that placebo works even when the person knows he was given placebo.
Yes, this kind of goes against the common misconception that placebos have something to do with gullibility or ignorance. I get the sense that sometimes people like to dismiss placebos in order to send a cheap signal about how intelligent and analytical they are (eg. "I'm an excellent critical thinker so that'd never fool me"), when really a true placebo effect --- not talking about social compliance --- is more about individual's different capacity for a curious kind of cognitive control influenced by environmental stimuli of the "red pill" or "blue pill" or "white pill" (even the color of the placebo can make a difference, how weird is that?).
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
It just underscores the fact that we don't fully comprehend the power of our own brain. The amount of control we have, or choose to relinquish, is pretty astounding.