Wizard of Id by Parker and Hart for January 26, 2011

It’s a lot cheaper too I bet.

Am I to imply/infer that generics are placebos?

pouncing - no, it’s just that chicken soup is a miracle cure. Ask any Mom. Ask mine.

Chicken soup and aspirin can cure just about anything.

Never take chicken soup and aspirin together unless you want to spend the next day or two pecking at corn, potent side effects.

Chicken soup works because someone cares enough to boil the meat off a carcass, then spend hours boiling it down because they are concerned about you. Somehow popping a can in the microwave doesn’t have the same effect. Read “Mom was Right” in hardcover, 200 copies published on iwroteabook.com

pouncingtiger wrote: “Am I to imply/infer that generics are placebos?”

I think rather, the implication is that all those prescription drugs we take aren’t worth a whole lot more than some good old fashioned chicken soup.

Chicken Soup won’t cure anything, but it makes you feel a whole lot better! It and jello are two of the foods you can keep down no matter how sick you are. Everything else may come back up and that will make you feel worse.

I also recommend watching a funny movie because laughter helps too.

Pam: If I ever need a nurse, you are first on the list.

Good for whatever ails you.

Chicken soup is the equivalent of duct tape.

Placebos are effective - but tricky to apply ethically. The effectiveness depends on the belief the patient places in the doctor - hence it should be called the “placebo response”.

Recent research has suggested a way to ethically harness the placebo response. The effect is enhanced by reinforcement in a way that doesn’t depend so much on belief. If you give a real pain killer first, then subsequent placebo pills are as effective as the real things - although this wears off with subsequent placebos.

So the idea is to provide packages of potent pain killers as a mixture of 2 or 3 placebos to 1 real drug. This is just as effective, and substantially lowers the dose of the real drug (thus reducing the risk and side effects), and doesn’t depend on faith in the doctor.

The idea can probably be extended to other treatments eventually.

And Chicken soup actually cures you… :)

Chicken soup is the best!

Besides, drugs usually just treat the symptoms.

You might want a sip of blackberry brandy with that.

Ah yes, drugs……do what?