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Came accross this lately, wondering if anyone else has heard of it or can explain it better?

An example would be when an ill patient goes to a doctor, the doctor gives the patient some sweets and tells the patient they are strong painkillers which will cure the illness. The patient believes the doctor, and takes the sweets. A short while later the patients illness gets better - not due to the sweets (obviously) but due to the psycological influence of the patient thinking that he is going to get better, which triggers off some form of self healing.

I think the same can be used to explain superstition, lucky charms, feng shui ornaments etc. A lot could be attributed to the pure psycological effect of thinking you are going to do well, feel well, have confidence or whatever.

Anyway, it's not proven, still seems a bit of a myth, but I certainly find it interesting.

http://skepdic.com/placebo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_(origins_of_technical_term)

Old news to me. I have watched a few documentaries on placebo's, one of which, was about an old man who had some thing wrong with his knee joint. The surgeon's just cut open his knee and cleaned it with a swab, nothing that could cure what he had, but he did get better.

placebo's only work if the condition is psychological or the body can actually heal the condition itself. Severe conditions would require treatment.

Most of the time placebo's trigger a memory, for example, in the case of painkillers, someone will remember how the felt after they took the pills, also the body releases a natural painkiller.

some painkillers do actually DO something though, often its a simple blood thinning agent which reduces blood pressure and swelling.

If you're interested in Placebo's - watch The 51st State - good film