A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “placebo effect”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott argues that aesthetic discussions wrongly conflate sensory delight with novelty and context, and that modern art's obsession with being part of a historical conversation has led to the abandonment of beauty in favor of mechanical innovation.
Scott Alexander examines a study challenging ketamine's effectiveness as an antidepressant, discussing potential confounding factors and maintaining his belief in ketamine's utility despite the study's results.
The post challenges the notion that effect sizes below 0.50 for medications are clinically insignificant, using antidepressants as a case study and comparing them to other common drugs.
Scott Alexander evaluates silexan, a lavender-based anxiety supplement, finding promising but potentially biased evidence, and recommends cautious trial use.
Scott Alexander discusses a replication of his nootropics survey, expressing skepticism about the results due to potential placebo effects and biases in participant ratings.
Scott Alexander conducts a personal randomized controlled trial of a sleep supplement, finding no significant effect over placebo, but gains insights into his sleep patterns.
Scott Alexander critiques therapy books, highlighting their exaggerated claims and questioning the validity of their approaches, based on his clinical experience and historical misdiagnoses in psychology.
Scott Alexander introduces an 'Anxiety Sampler Kit' for testing various anxiety supplements, aiming to personalize treatment and gather data through self-experimentation.
Scott Alexander reports on a survey about nighttime ventilation interventions, finding modest overall improvements but some individual success stories.
Scott Alexander explores research on how high indoor CO2 levels may impair cognition and sleep, suggesting simple solutions like better ventilation.
Scott Alexander examines Vinay Gupta's ideas on enlightenment, comparing them with other sources and discussing the challenges of interpreting mystical experiences from a scientific viewpoint.
The post examines research suggesting placebos are largely ineffective, explores exceptions, and proposes explanations for observed placebo effects based on brain function and study design.
Scott Alexander examines the rise, fall, and alleged resurrection of the antidepressant NSI-189, expressing skepticism about its efficacy and the broader challenges in developing new antidepressants.
Scott Alexander reviews 'Surfing Uncertainty' by Andy Clark, exploring the predictive processing model of brain function and its wide-ranging explanatory power.
Scott Alexander criticizes branded combination nootropics, explaining why they are often ineffective or harmful, and advises careful individual experimentation with single substances instead.
Scott examines psychological phenomena attributed to the unconscious mind, noting many have failed to replicate, and suggests a shift away from the power of the unconscious in psychological research.
Scott reviews 'Unlearn Your Pain', finding its psychosomatic theory of chronic pain intriguing but overstated, while acknowledging the book's techniques may still be helpful via placebo effects.
Scott Alexander presents results from a survey of 850 people rating various nootropics, showing a range of perceived effectiveness and exploring addiction potential for some substances.
Scott Alexander explores the declining effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, proposing that its core ideas have become part of popular culture, potentially explaining its decreased impact.
Scott analyzes various criticisms of antidepressants, concluding they have modest but real benefits over placebo, with important considerations about side effects and efficacy.
Scott explores the fascinating etymology of 'placebo' from medieval funerals to medicine, then discusses the controversial placebo effect in depression treatment.
Scott Alexander reports on a survey of nootropics users, finding mixed results for various substances and discussing methodological challenges in assessing their effectiveness.
Scott argues that affirmations (repeatedly stating goals aloud) might actually work based on evidence that subconscious beliefs affect success and that verbal repetition influences subconscious beliefs, though he acknowledges this needs proper scientific study.
Scott argues that good skeptics should try to explain strange claims, as Marinatos did with Atlantis and Santorini, rather than worship them or reflexively ignore them.