Phony Cure

“It seems sensible to make every effort to enlist the body’s own ability to heal itself—which is what, at bottom, placebos seem to do,” writes the Boston Globe. “As evidence of the effect’s power mounts, members of the medical community are increasingly asking an intriguing question: if the placebo effect can help patients, shouldn’t we start putting it to work? In certain ways, placebos are ideal drugs: they typically have no side effects and are essentially free.”