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Shared placebo effect stories on another forum

Blumlein 88

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https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...214-share-your-quot-placebo-quot-stories.html

This a pro recording forum. I thought some of you here would enjoy reading the various placebo stories people have posted there. Some quite funny, and the whole thing rather interesting about what we hear. One fellow seemed to hit on something when he said placebo is strongest when you are listening for sound differences and trying to picture them in your mind. Because at that point you aren't "just" listening any longer.
 

bobbooo

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Just goes to show, no matter who you are, how many decades of experience you have, what training you've had, audio engineer, audiophile, random guy off the street, no-one is immune to the placebo effect and subconscious cognitive biases.
 

pozz

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Great post.:p
 

ROOSKIE

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https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...214-share-your-quot-placebo-quot-stories.html

This a pro recording forum. I thought some of you here would enjoy reading the various placebo stories people have posted there. Some quite funny, and the whole thing rather interesting about what we hear. One fellow seemed to hit on something when he said placebo is strongest when you are listening for sound differences and trying to picture them in your mind. Because at that point you aren't "just" listening any longer.
Howdy.
It is seems you have mistaken "placebo effect" for confirmation/expectation biases.
A placebo effect is a real change. In other words the placebo actually creates a real effect not just a perceved effect.
Like taking a sugar pill and your headache actually goes away.
 

Tks

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I like to play music at low to moderate levels. Sometimes I have my headphones on, but forget my DAC is set to out to speakers while I'm at my desk typing away. When I press play, I am then told "hey, you mind turning off the speakers since you got headphones on?"

:facepalm:

Straight up don't notice the sound wasn't coming from headphones.
 

Head_Unit

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A placebo effect is a real change. In other words the placebo actually creates a real effect not just a perceved effect.
Like taking a sugar pill and your headache actually goes away.
I was reading research where the doctor told people "this is your placebo" and the patients still got better! He felt part of it was the ritual nature of taking the pill.

From my personal journey of experiencing reduced allergy symptoms from my very first allergist visit-he gave me no treatment at all, but I think just the idea that treatment was possible made me feel psychologically better and enacted physical response changes. I'm not making this up, I really experienced sharply reduced symptoms.

Hmmm, or could it have been how I re-strung my speaker cables through Aboriginal didgeridoos, thus making the sound more resonant and primitive?
 

CtheArgie

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I was reading research where the doctor told people "this is your placebo" and the patients still got better! He felt part of it was the ritual nature of taking the pill.

From my personal journey of experiencing reduced allergy symptoms from my very first allergist visit-he gave me no treatment at all, but I think just the idea that treatment was possible made me feel psychologically better and enacted physical response changes. I'm not making this up, I really experienced sharply reduced symptoms.

Hmmm, or could it have been how I re-strung my speaker cables through Aboriginal didgeridoos, thus making the sound more resonant and primitive?
Your example is very well known in clinical studies. Many times, studies have placebo run ins, and at the end of the period you exclude placebo responders and only then randomize patients to the study arms.
 
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