Why placebos are good – and why we’re all liars and thieves, to boot.

I stumbled on a thought-provoking talk over at Ted.com, which was originally brought to my attention through this post.

One thing that struck me about this talk, called “Life Lessons from an Ad Man“ is the use of intangible value, otherwise known as placebo effects.

The use of placebos are common in medicine, where the subject goes through a sham procedure or takes a fake pill. Simply because the patient believes his condition will improve because of the medicine – he perceives the medicine as being very helpful – his condition actually improves.

This all speaks to the power of the mind.

Of course, this comes as a no-brainer because for the past few decades, psychologists and personal development leaders have been incessantly, I might add, preaching about how your life will not change unless you change the way you think and the way you perceive the world.

Rory Sutherland, the self-defined “ad man,” attempts to demonstrate the importance of marketing and its connection with human behavior. It’s quite humorous. You can watch the video here.

One of the many interesting things he said is this:

“Someone was actually suggesting that you can take [the perception] concept further, and actually produce placebo education. The point is that education doesn’t actually work by teaching you things. It actually works by giving you the impression that you’ve had a very good education, which gives you an insane sense of unwarranted self confidence, which then makes you very, very successful in later life. So, welcome to Oxford, ladies and gentlemen.

The point of placebo education is interesting. How many problems of life can be solved actually by tinkering with perception, rather than that tedious, hardworking and messy business of actually trying to change reality?”

Whether this is accurate or not (and I believe he is half joking), the point is – frankly – he’s got a point.

It’s not just about education. Another glaring example is in the pharmaceutical industry. You probably can’t perceive your cancer away. But what about things like depression? Or ADHD?

Depression and anxiety disorders are perception problems. We could argue until we’re blue in the face about which comes first: the hormonal imbalances or the thought processes? But does it matter? At the end of the day, what aggravates the problem further is how the person perceives themselves.

And ADHD … is it really an attention deficit? Could it simply be that the person is in the wrong place, doing the wrong things, and thinking the wrong thoughts as a result?

Are chiropractors and other naturopaths quacks? Does yoga really work, or are all those people nuts?  Is atheism wrong? Are religious people deluded?

Does it matter?

If all of those things are helping people get their desired results and a much better perception to boot – without hurting themselves and other people around them – does it really matter if the procedure is actually causing those results?

I don’t see why the critics should be pointing fingers since the traditional procedures and medicines they recommend are more dangerous by their own standards – with the plethora of unintended and unnecessary side effects.

I don’t see why certain religious people are judgmental about atheists … and vice versa. Maybe if we understand that different things fulfill individual needs, there would be a lot less proselytizing and suicide bombings and pointless diatribes about why X is better than Y … and more getting to the point. It’s far-fetched, maybe. But can’t a girl dream?

I could go on and on.

Oh, there is the problem of many people going out of business. So there is a lot of self-preservation (*ahem* manipulation, lobbying, what-have-you) going on. Ironically, these people are also playing the perceived value games themselves – they are just more subtle about it and hide behind their version of statistics and science.

But of course everyone is going to use their version of statistics and science or whatever. It’s playing the game and using it in a way that is deemed acceptable by society. Whoever does so, wins.

And sure, there is also the problem of a lack of uniform results – yoga has different effects on different people, whereas the results of Valium are much more uniform.

People are upset because naturopaths and advertising executives are perceived to masters of creating intangible value (whether intentionally or not), and thus they must be liars and thieves. Because most people do not understand, believe in, or value intangible value and the power of perception.

The thing is, the ad man and the naturopaths aren’t any better or worse than the professor, the politician, the scientist, your religious leader or even your own parents. We are all experts in intangible value and placebo effects. In our own words, we are the very people we despise: liars and thieves. We are all victims and suspects at the same time. Pawns and kings.

It’s okay when we use it on others – we just don’t like when we know it’s blatantly being used on us. Classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.

I ask, again, if something gets us our desired results – if we’re aware of what really matters – should we be offended at all?

Related posts:

1. Is God keeping you spiritually and financially confused?
2. The problem with collecting degrees without a ‘goal’ and without experience…
3. [Spirituality month] The beginnings of exploring spirituality and religion
4. Give your worries a can of whoop-ass, Part 1: Laughing
5. Racism & discrimination: Seeing beyond the past and aiming for respect instead

Tagged as: personal growth