This is a fascinating and complicated dive into the history behind the first placebos and observations of their effects. We'll do our best not to lose our own minds trying to sort out the complexities of the placebo effect as we understood it simply in the past, and try to contrast that with all of the newer science on the topic. This gets weird.

Sources:

• Wikipedia: Placebo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo
• The Neuroscience of Placebo Effects, Nature Reviews (paywall), Wager and Atlas https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3976
• The Early History of the Placebo, Jutte (paywall) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229912000866
• Attempts to Revive Antient Medical Doctrines, by Alex Sutherland (Google Books), https://www.google.com/books/edition/Attempts_to_Revive_Antient_Medical_Doctr/AntbAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP26&printsec=frontcover
• Placebo etymology, https://www.etymonline.com/word/placebo
• Podcast: Skeptics with a K -Episode #386

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