THE STRANGE
POWER OF THE
PLACEBO EFFECT

Can a fake ever be as good as the real thing?

When it comes to medicine, it goes without saying that we want the genuine article. But the phenomenon of the placebo effect has shown time and again that fake treatments can produce real results. So… what’s going on?

Surprising as it might seem, placebos can activate powerful healing responses in the body – sometimes even when patients know they’re not getting actual medicine. All of this raises a big question: if it works, is it really fake?