the placebo effect??

Question

for my science hw we're supposed 2 find out what the placebo effect is. i have gone to wikipedia and searched it but its to hard to understand cos they use too many technical terms.
can you please sum it up for me??
also the second part is a question:
'how can we tell how accurate a measurement is? (hint- find out about uncertainty)'

ty

Answer 1

The placebo effect is the thought that some people in a blind test, taking the placebo instead of the actual dosage of medicine, seem to benefit and this can be attributed to the mind healing the body. Or mind over matter, the people taking the placebo believe it's the real thing. The measurement would be comparing the number of people that actually took the medicine who's ailments got better and that number can be skewed by the people with the placebo effect.

Answer 2

The placebo effect is basically where something happens because you believe its going to happen. Often in drug testing, they'll tell two groups of testers the same thing -- that they're getting this drug, and its going to do whatever. However, only one of the two groups actually recieves the drug. The other often recieves a fake pill, or placebo, that they think is the drug. The placebo effect is about whether the group taking the placebo, gets the same effects of the group taking the actual drug. This is a way to see if its actually the drug causing the effects, or the mind causing the effects.

The second part is a fairly vague question, and therefore a bit more difficult to answer. In general, you can tell how accurate a measurement is by comparing it to preset standards. I hope this helps answer your question.

Answer 3

The first part has been answered very nicely, and correctly. Very easy to understand.

So I thought I'd take on the second part. And in doing so found this wonderful website that compares accurate measurements to William Tell and the Apple. After reading it I think it will answer your question.

Answer 4

its when you do an experiment...one is the real experiment and the other is a fake...Like with doctors...they get people to join a study..but half will get nothing but plain pills...the other will get real medicine...then they will compare the results....But in the fake experiment, which is the placebo...some will be cured of their ailments just because they thought that they were taking real medicine...this is the placebo effect....