> Why are some things only effective if we believe them to be so?
Are they though? I used to think so until I skimmed Wikipedia article on placebo some 5 minutes ago. According to the article (as of now), there's been plenty of research on placebo done in the past couple decades, which revealed... the most mundane reality you'd expect: placebo effect impacts perception of symptoms, and can only do as much as a transient change in perception can. Apparently, the old studies that ascribed all kinds of big effects to placebos, were failing to account for regression to the mean.
Now, I haven't checked the sources, but I'm inclined to believe it - it feels right. The possibility of placebos being meaningfully effective on the targeted condition itself felt like bad writing[0] - the same phenomenon should be giving us all kinds of superpowers, which we don't see. I mean, when you get drunk, you may tolerate pain better, but your skin doesn't turn into kevlar with steel inserts just because the drunk you believes you're impervious to knives and bullets.
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[0] - Like in fiction, when you discover the author didn't think through the consequences of a minor plot point they're making - a plot point that, extrapolated ever so slightly, would instantly break the main story, and/or disrupt the entire fictional universe.
Certainly some effects are clearly only explainable by physical changes. Cognitive effects, though, it feels are a bit easier to see will be in the realm of placebo.
Telling people something won't work could cause it to not work. Which is terrifying.
Edit: I am slow to realize it may have sounded like "shut up" was directed at you. My apologies. I meant that more for the generic voice of caution that is as often very valuable. And i am very nervous on what it implies for general health reporting. How many more people are sick because they think they should be? What can you even do with that idea?
Right, and if someone is healthier because they ate their spinach, that seems to imply we should encourage mistakes in that direction?
That is, if we were to reduce the negative effects reporting, but increase the positive ones, would that bias the world in that direction? (That make sense?)
There are some weird quantum effects which allows your mind to "steer" the future into the direction you want. You can choose from a set/distribution of possible futures.
I'm not in favor of lies. But mayhap shutting up is more called for? :)