tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post335740378184153109..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: Experimenter EffectsJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-32767625151437186982016-05-07T19:00:20.620-04:002016-05-07T19:00:20.620-04:00The fact that we're so good at convincing ours...The fact that we're so good at convincing ourselves of something seems very handily to go hand in hand with the very real improvements we see once we've been convinced on something.<br /><br />The placebo effect is staggering - you can see real improvement without treatment simply by being convinced you've been given proper treatment, and you can see real decline despite treatment simply by being convinced the treatment was incorrect or fake. Obviously the best case is for someome to believe in a treatment that they actually do receive, gaining benefit from both avenues.<br /><br />We also know that a positive attitude helps people overcome illness and injury more readily. A firm belief that one can and will recover actually makes it more likely that a person will recover. We even see such behavior in animals - if something breaks the spirit of a dog or a horse, they can sucumb to illnesses or injuries that they could normally heal with only a modest investment of time, like a broken leg. And yet the biggest threat to such animals with such wounds is that they become depressed and despondant, and refuse to eat and starve.<br /><br />Would it be a stretch to assume these two phenomenon are linked, perhaps causally? That we're good at convincing ourselves of something we want to believe because it actually increases our chances of survival, and is therefor selected for? If praying makes you feel better, and that leads to increased odds of survival, then isn't religiosity evolutionarily promoted?G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-75701934060585587522016-05-07T14:09:11.716-04:002016-05-07T14:09:11.716-04:00I always wondered why these two scientists didn...I always wondered why these two scientists didn't do the parapsychology tests together.<br /><br />Meta<br />Meta-meta<br />Meta-meta-meta<br /><br />A few more metas and we might reach godhood.Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.com