Ironically, placebo has the most documented effectiveness of the three in treating all sorts of ailments. It’s the gold standard of medicine, with limited side effects.
Of course, placebo doesn’t work all that often, so people keep on seeking out other, riskier treatments for which we have so little data, often just anecdotal evidence.
Wow.
Fascinating.
And a little depressing :)
“Placebo Defect” by Stephen A. Kallis, Jr. Analog Dec 1992...