Placebo effects and surgical superstitions

19 Oct 2011placebo superstition surgery

It's funny how the mind works. The placebo effect remains an unknowable mystery, where the body somehow compensates for an expected effect even in cases where the subject is aware that they are receiving a placebo. On an equally mysterious topic, I was deeply surprised when I first discovered the serious consideration with which some bizarre superstitions were treated in the healthcare field.