On: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Cov...

[tinus_hn]

The only way to be sure is to randomly take either the real preparation or some placebo that looks, tastes, smells etc. exactly the same so you can’t tell the difference. The placebo effect does not require you to believe in the cure.

[retsibsi → tinus_hn]

To be sure, yeah, but if you've tried a bunch of things with no success, and then one thing works despite your having no real optimism for it, that's pretty suggestive of a non-placebo effect.

[EricE → retsibsi]

And even if it is a placebo - if you improve, who cares?!?

I never get that for people who seem eager to dismiss a placebo effect as not having value because it isn’t “real” - whatever that means.

[thibauts → EricE]

You improving has no predictive power about somebody else improving. That’s the problem. Limited usefulness VS an effective drug.