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Mike Hall

14 Articles
Mike Hall is a software engineer and Doctor Who fan, not in that order. He is the producer and host of the long-running podcast Skeptics with a K, part of the organising committee for the award winning skeptical conference QED, and on the board of the Merseyside Skeptics Society.

Does pill packet branding change the placebo response, or is this just another placebo myth?

How expensive a pill packet looks is said to influence the size of its placebo effect but, once again, the evidence is sorely lacking

Pacemakers don’t work when they’re switched off – we should doubt studies that say otherwise

Among the many odd claims made about the placebo effect is that pacemakers work even before they're switched on - which obviously isn't true

The evidence for pill colour impacting placebo effects gets flimsier the more you examine it

The idea that the colour of a pill influences what placebo response you get is based on a succession of badly designed or badly interpreted trials

Does the colour of a pill really influence what kind of placebo effect you’ll experience?

It's said that pill colour influences what placebo effect people experience, but the primary source for this claim is flimsy at best

Overly simplistic headlines muddy the water around placebo effects and mislead the public

Recent headlines claim we 'finally know' how placebos work, thanks to a trial that is little more than Pavlovian conditioning. No wonder the public is confused

Hotels and houseplants: why we should doubt Ellen Langer’s mind-over-matter miracles

Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer's research claims powerful mind-over-matter effects, based on small studies with implausible outcomes - we should be skeptical

The Simpson’s prophecies: no, the long-running cartoon can’t predict the future

The long-standing myth that The Simpson's has an uncanny ability to predict the future is just a case of viewers scouring archives to connect dots that aren't there

Vabbing: the TikTok trend of using vaginal secretions as perfume, to attract a partner

The practice of 'vabbing' - or 'vaginal dabbing' - claims that vaginal secretions contain pheremones that make women irresistable to potential partners, but science suggests otherwise
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