Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Giant Placebo?

A lot of people seem to wonder if the oil and/or sugar water taken on this diet are simply placebos. Sugar and oil, from what I can remember, have both been used as placebos in the past, so I guess it makes sense to wonder.

Another possibility I haven't seen brought up is the Hawthorne Effect. Basically, if you know some change is supposed to give results, you give the results. Very similar to the placebo effect.

I think these arguments miss the point.

This seems to be working for a lot of people. Provided, of course, that it continues to work, does anyone really care if it's a placebo or Hawthorne effect?

I don't.

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3 comments:

Dixie Amazon said...

Thanks for posting the link at Seth's forum. I have added you to my Google Reader list. I am looking forward to your posts!

Stephen said...

Congrats on sticking with it.

Miller said...

Thanks!

I've been thinking a lot about this diet recently, and I hope in the future can post a lot that hasn't been said before.