bemused_leftist (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bemused_leftist) wrote2010-02-23 06:53 pm
bemused_leftist) wrote2010-02-23 06:53 pm
homeopathic placebos?
So the people who are being helped by the placebo effect of homeopathic products -- where are they going to get an equally effective (and harmless) placebo?
You can't just say "There's nothing in it but water, they should take water without the the mumbo jumbo." But it is the tradition, the theory, that makes homeopathy work well as a placebo for many people.
A placebo works better when the doctor believes it is the real thing. That's why studies are double-blind: so the administrator doesn't have knowledge that would increase or decrease a placebo effect if the patient picked up on it.
You can't just say "There's nothing in it but water, they should take water without the the mumbo jumbo." But it is the tradition, the theory, that makes homeopathy work well as a placebo for many people.
A placebo works better when the doctor believes it is the real thing. That's why studies are double-blind: so the administrator doesn't have knowledge that would increase or decrease a placebo effect if the patient picked up on it.