> Just for the record, if you're talking about this NPR interview on the
> Diane Rehms show (with Steve Roberts subbing as host):
No, it was on Morning Edition.
> > Interestingly, he also suggested that taking advantage of the placebo
> > effect has therapeutic value.
>
> Absolutely. All of modern medicine is founded on the reality of the
> placebo effect. Until we admitted its reality -- that it always showed
> up, and usually in incredibly large amounts, no matter what scientific
> criteria we used to measure success -- we couldn't filter it out. The
> placebo effect is not a fake effect. It's just one we can't explain and
> try not to think about because it feels funny.
What I mean is that the placebo effect tends to be treated like experimental error, something to be eliminated, as opposed to something to be taken advantage of. I haven't seen much suggestion, at least in "mainstream" circles, of using it for treatment. Though of course that could get really complicated.
-- Andy