September 2, 2010

What On Earth’s Wrong With Placebos ?

‘What on earth’s wrong with placebos?

They cost very little to develop.

They work extraordinarily well.

They have no side effects or if they do they’re imaginary so you can safely ignore them.’

Rory Sutherland, TED 2009.

I’m a big fan of TED and strongly suggest you subscribe to their video podcasts if you don’t already.

Rory Sutherland is an advertising whizz.  He argues that adding intangible or perceived value to things we already have  is perhaps no bad thing and perhaps may be the only alternative to a world of unsustainable consumerism.

This clip made me laugh out loud  (especially the combo pack) – the perfect example of adding intangible value.

RorySutherland_20094

You can watch the whole TED talk here

Related Posts

  1. Academic Earth Open Source Lecture Series
  2. Quackery Without Scruples

About Peter Allely
Trained in Ireland and Australia now living in Perth and working as an Emergency Physician. Main work related interests are Trauma, Cardiology, Simulation training and Protocol development...Real interests are work avoidance, football, Arthouse films and satire

Comments

  1. HealthEngine says:

    RT @sandnsurf: @bitethedust The Perceived value of Placebo Treatment http://bit.ly/6DWy5W LOL

  2. Robbo says:

    RT @sandnsurf: @bitethedust The Perceived value of Placebo Treatment http://bit.ly/6DWy5W LOL

  3. Body In Mind says:

    What on earth is wrong with placebos http://su.pr/2peQHD

  4. HealthEngine says:

    What on earth's wrong with placebos ? http://bit.ly/7VkC5n

Trackbacks

  1. sandnsurf says:

    @bitethedust The Perceived value of Placebo Treatment http://bit.ly/6DWy5W LOL

  2. Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by sandnsurf: @bitethedust The Perceived value of Placebo Treatment http://bit.ly/6DWy5W LOL…

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