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- ChromaVita, on 08/24/2009, -1/+54More faith in medicine? Or maybe more of these diseases are all in our head.
- AmnesiacJack, on 08/24/2009, -0/+34Shssss, it's The Secret.
Oprah told me so. - gothsquirrel, on 08/24/2009, -1/+26I'd say because of the "I need drugs, I don't care what they actually do" attitude most people have.
- brdrk, on 08/24/2009, -1/+22Honestly, I think it's the fact that most big pharma companies are focusing on anti-depressants. I'm sure some people are really do get some effect from them but I think most people get prescribed them for just feeling sad or down. The more things we add a "disorder" to the end of it just means more money for medicine. We may not need these drugs ever. Too active? ADHD, take some amphetamines. Sad? Here, change your brain's chemistry. Anxious? Open up with this pill. Really all we need to do is learn how to cope with our *****. I do understand the extreme cases where daily life is affected but I doubt the majority of people prescribed are anywhere near that.
There are studies that show getting the right vitamins and exercise have a stronger effect towards well-being than anti-depressants. (google if you want a source. there's tons.) - inactive, on 08/24/2009, -1/+20People believe anything these days.. literally.
- ShingoEX, on 08/24/2009, -2/+17One has to look no further than you , actually...
- stufflebean, on 08/24/2009, -2/+14This just reinforces my view that the placebo effect is one of the absolute coolest things that we completely don't understand.
- SimonWatson, on 08/24/2009, -0/+11Fake pills curing imaginary diseases, who'd have thought it.
- StaticThunder, on 08/25/2009, -0/+11They've always done that. The prevalence of instant media is making it more obvious.
- Supernova36, on 08/24/2009, -0/+10Probably because placebos are highly effective against hypochondria.
- Rain12913, on 08/24/2009, -0/+10Suckers? The people who are getting better?
- Jpeg2600, on 08/24/2009, -0/+9Can you be Jesus 2.0 please
- BoneheadFarker, on 08/24/2009, -1/+10Yeah...until some asshat comes along telling people they can believe away their cancer, making them less likely to seek real treatments until it's too late...
- ChromaVita, on 08/24/2009, -0/+8Well when it comes to faith in medicine, it's not exactly blind faith. It's fairly obvious that medicine is better these days than in the past.
- Lennox24, on 08/24/2009, -0/+8-Where do we get these placebos??
-Maybe there's some in this truck! - Kitakaze, on 08/25/2009, -1/+8Because people are becoming dumber? Don't mean to be snarky, but it seems people are increasingly relying on "gut feelings," prayer, and other irrational things, rather than facts and rational thought.
- Kitakaze, on 08/25/2009, -0/+7Haven't we shifted from a culture though, where the opinion of a professional expert is given far more weight than a regular person, towards a culture were every person's opinion must — in a misguided and incorrect interpretation of democracy and all men being equal etc. — be considered equal, no matter whether it is based on nonsense?
It's part of the 15-minutes of fame thing, along with trash TV that praises unintelligent behavior and glorifies the use of violence in arguments. Like Jerry Springer shows where even the most inarticulate, uneducated, ignorant audience member gets to yell and act like an idiot, while feeling as if they've contributed something valuable; valuable enough to be on TV.
Sorry to get all Raskolnikov here, but if you're intelligent, you know that you are. If you're dumb, you might not. And it's about time that intelligent people stop being ashamed of it, and stop fear being labeled an elitist for it. It's time for smart people to point out the irrational, ignorant behavior of idiots and try get them back to where they were, just a few generations ago. I know it sounds arrogant, but my father wasn't a smart man, but he was smart enough to know it. He'd never offer his opinions on TV. Didn't make him a bad person — it made him a better one. But today, everyone thinks that they all get to be superheros and geniuses.
Thus, placebos become more effective. - Carrot1991, on 08/24/2009, -0/+7Yeah, this is what I think. Medicine is becoming a lot more trusted, effective and peoples education on healthcare is improving. It's not like the old days where there'd be a good 50% chance it'd lose you a limb or where people believed that rocks applied to the pelvic area could cure Gonnorhea
- charlietuna, on 08/24/2009, -0/+6My Chia pet is stronger?
- yocouchdigga, on 08/24/2009, -0/+6Secreteers crack me up, well played.
- nixpix66, on 08/24/2009, -0/+6It's because we are evolving!!! Becoming faster, stronger, better. Soon we will never get sick, and be able to FLYYYYY!!!!
- Skywise, on 08/24/2009, -0/+6Gonna have to invest in Pez... or green M&Ms... (or was it the blue ones?)
- ShingoEX, on 08/24/2009, -2/+8Drug makers don't understand how psychology can affect the well-being of the body?
- Rain12913, on 08/24/2009, -2/+8The fields of Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine are trying to get at this. There's tremendous potential in this pursuit, if you consider the power of the placebo effect, that people can alter their physiology simply by believing something.
- DeadliestSnatch, on 08/24/2009, -8/+13Our collective Chi is growing stronger and our collective conscience is expanding as our society evolves, despite the best efforts of religious fanatics, ***** conservatives, and hippies.
- Skywise, on 08/24/2009, -0/+5Oh yeah... I forgot about that... Actually it was the blue food coloring... and I'd still like to know what was the thought processes behind thinking that blue food coloring might have a health benefit so we should inject it into rats... (I'm guessing they were actually looking for a visible tracer chemical and got a surprise...)
- cre8tivate, on 08/25/2009, -0/+5"Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Why is This Happening?"
Because there's nothing wrong with these people. - ManicMinority, on 08/25/2009, -0/+5I'd been prescribed anti-depressants for several years, and the side effects were more troubling than my original symptoms of illness. Stopped taking them a few months ago and started something that drastically improved my health and mood. You know what they are?
Exercise and a proper diet...
Try it, it works. - inactive, on 08/24/2009, -0/+5Now I just rub rocks on my pelvic area just for fun :)
- StaticThunder, on 08/25/2009, -0/+4"Haven't we shifted from a culture though, where the opinion of a professional expert is given far more weight than a regular person, towards a culture were every person's opinion must — in a misguided and incorrect interpretation of democracy and all men being equal etc. — be considered equal, no matter whether it is based on nonsense?"
Doubtful. People have always held smarter people in contempt - look at all the Faustian stories: people who are smart must be up to something - dealing with things man wasn't meant to know, God will punish them in the end. Again, its just more obvious now because all those contemptuous people have a louder voice.
But you're absolutely right about Raskolnikov. Stupid people don't know they are stupid, but if you point it out, you have to remember: there are a lot more of them than there are of you, and they aren't smart enough to recognize that you have any more importance than they joy they will get out of sticking you with a pointy object. - StaticThunder, on 08/25/2009, -0/+4Science can explain those things. Things science can't explain, probably don't exist because it means, ipso facto, that they can't be observed.
- Mnementh2230, on 08/25/2009, -0/+4"I mean, just because science can't explain it..."
Perhaps you should look up what science can and cannot explain. It's called the placebo effect - that is, people expect a drug to work, and as such, convince themselves that it does, indeed, work. They can say "Oh, the pain isn't as bad today" or "The shakes aren't so bad today", and because they believe it so strongly, they can either ignore things or convince themselves that it is true. They *WANT* the pills to work for them, and so they convince themselves that the pills do, indeed, work. On the other hand, people who don't expect the drug to work (even though it is a placebo) can often experience what is called a "nocebo" effect, where they have bad reactions to the "drug", even though the drug is just a sugar pill!
In short, learn what you're talking about before speaking, so you sound less like a fool. - tnsimonson, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3This is all because they're using the new maximum strength placebo rather than the tried-and-true regular strength placebo.
- JigoroKano, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3One word: Fibromyalgia.
It's a god damn fake disease treated with opiates. - Disgod, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3See people who use chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, crystals, magnet therapy, enemas, etc, etc, etc. All pseudo-sciences rely upon the placebo effect, and hypochondriacs to remain in business.
- Disgod, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3Yeah, cuz not taking chemo will make you healthier than just living with cancer. That's such a broad statement, and is complete garbage. The placebo effect pretty much only works with subjective symptoms, like pain, emotion, mental well being, etc. If you have a genuine physiological disease, the placebo effect won't do ***** to solve the problem.
- palehorse864, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3The pool of Bethesda?
- themastersb, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3I think the placebo effect isn't getting stronger. It's that more people are stupid.
- Harabeck, on 08/24/2009, -0/+3Sounds like a load of horse ***** to me. Which scientists are these that are claiming this?
- kspanks04, on 08/24/2009, -1/+4Tell me about it. Most mental related diseases are 100% behavioral. We love our diseases way too much though. I mean, restless leg syndrome? come one.
- ApokalypseNow, on 08/25/2009, -0/+3@StaticThunder
"People have always held smarter people in contempt - look at all the Faustian stories: people who are smart must be up to something..."
CrazedLeper in a nutshell. - BenFranklin1008, on 08/24/2009, -1/+4Let's say some factor is making the population more susceptible to suggestion. Then placebos might be more effective. Are there things going on to make this happen? Chemtrails? Increased drug residue in municipal water? Hypnotic commands over FOX TV from demagogues? Scully, there's a reason and I'm going to find it!
- charlietuna, on 08/24/2009, -0/+3Don't you tell me that my restless leg syndrome and my depression over the loss of my pet ferret aren't real!
BWAH gimme a scrip, now! - Disgod, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2Edit: That first sentence is awkward and wrong
Yeah, cuz not taking chemo will make you healthier living with cancer, than taking chemo and getting rid of the cancer. - techstar25, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2The article mentions the placebo being effective against Crohn's and Parkinson's diseases.
- Harabeck, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2"If you can read this far, you should be able to reason and think and understand what I am presenting is theoretical as we are discussing the placebo effect, I am presenting one of many possible variables that may affect the outcome of any placebo/double blind studies."
With absolutely no evidence to back that up.
"My point being there is more to the world that which our senses present us with."
Are you implying I don't believe in germs, electrons, or black holes? Don't try to get cute. I'm just saying I don't automatically believe crap that sounds like astrology.
"If you think anything you can't feel or see is *****, tell me where love comes from and goes to."
It's a condition caused by certain chemicals being released within the brain.
"Tell me how does the soul, intangible, move the body of flesh?"
I'm not a dualist. The "soul" is not separate from the physical. Nor is there any logical evidence for a separate substance of the "soul" that is fundamental different than the physical world.
"Talk to me of desire and its whims upon the fortunes of man."
Primitive instinct and it's unexpected affects within our rapidly changing modern society.
You try to sound way to poetic. As for your citations, neither have anything at all to do with the placebo effect. Further, the trials being discussed go back decades, the solar cycle is only eleven years. Your first citation also states that the effects of the magnetic field can only be seen in extreme northern or (I assume) southerm latitudes. That any other effect is most likely just differences in sunlight levels. Thanks for the neat articles, but they in no way support your hypothesis. - winmywii, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2I think it has to do with marketing from Big Pharma. We believe pills can solve everything even before we take them.
- jarjarbinx, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2We are improving our psionic ability. Soon, we can now control things with our minds!
- Ghetro, on 09/02/2009, -0/+2It's been long established that the effect size of placebo hovers somewhere around .3 - meaning that roughly 30% of people in studies will respond to the placebo as one would expect them to in the active condition. Pharm companies, knowing this, have run trials removing people likely to respond to placebo. This makes their drugs look better when compared to placebo later on, but effectively remove more than a quarter of the affected population.
I think non-industry trials like those run in academia (in which placebo responders are not removed) are just busting the myths propagated by industry research. - oldhick, on 08/25/2009, -0/+2I wouldn't kid yourselves, drug manufacturers are acutely aware of how our psyche plays a role in drug effectiveness. Why do you think they spend nearly as much marketing their drugs as they do making them?
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