I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

Re:I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea by perl4ever on Tuesday January 19, 2021 @01:47PM (#25837025)

I see belief in the "placebo effect" as a mind virus. Because it is not just a justification for lying to patients, but entails medical people lying to themselves.

I get tired trying to explain, and if I'm not convincing anyone, maybe it's me who doesn't understand...but, I feel like the key is to ask yourself, if the placebo effect is something that you can scientifically demonstrate, how would you arrange a control group?

Failure to identify a reason for an apparent effect cannot be turned into proof that "nothing" has an effect. It's just a mental short circuit that people get trapped in.

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Re:I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea by jacobion on Tuesday January 19, 2021 @08:27PM (#25841457)

> if the placebo effect is something that you can scientifically demonstrate, how would you arrange a control group?

Easy, just don't give the control group any medicine. Give the other group a placebo. If outcomes are better for the second group, it's evidence that placebos work, just as clearly as the usual trial provides evidence that medicines work.

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