Placebos and Behaviour Change - Rory Sutherland

[@jaredbrosn1780]

This dude is fascinating to listen to.

[@LearnThaiRapidMethod]

I came across a study in the placebo effect that showed that EVEN IF THE PATIENT IS AWARE of taking a placebo, it was still effective in a third of the patients! I apply this principle in my own life. I bought a really expensive crystal glass and it makes my tap water taste bloody marvellous! 😂 Another fascinating study, which doesn't seem to have taken hold globally is that hospitals designed more like a home than a technical lab, with pastel walls, curtains, indoor plants, sofas, and all the medical equipment hidden from view resulted in patients getting better much sooner (half the time or less) and only a small percentage of them relapsing and returning to hospital!

[@MrSaemichlaus]

When I was a child, spaghetti with bolognese tomato sauce seemed to have a profound placebo effect on me in case of headaches and such. I really liked the meal, it made me feel better psychologically and, as it seems, medically.

[@neuroblossom]

love rory sutherland, what an absolute legend

[@LearnThaiRapidMethod]

BTW, Rory is a genius. All his talks are very subtle rationalisations for Spending More Money On Advertising. It's a brilliant marketing endeavour for the ad industry as a whole, but for Ogilvy in particular. 😂

[@Aux.Machina]

Here's a creative suggestion inspired by the talk's emphasis on the placebo effect in marketing. What if we leaned into the idea that “psychological cues can drive effectiveness” and created a product line that’s intentionally branded with humorously exaggerated effects? Imagine “Placebo Painkillers for All Types of Troubles” - with varieties for “Mondays,” “Lost Keys,” or “Unexpected Meetings.” When Rory said, “If something could work without us knowing why, does that mean we shouldn't use it?” is the key to his talk. It's about the potential to embrace, rather than shy away from, these psychological layers.

[@Sridhar160972]

Pls note in the transcript, it says “Robert Rivers” however the name of the author is “Robert Trivers”

[@acxezknightnite1377]

Fascinating to hear these insights into our weird psyche.

[@ironheart191]

About Live Chat: It's not necessary that your Vodafone live chat support person is only talking to three Vodafone customers. The industry has changed over the years but it's likely that one chat support rep. has two Vodafone customers, two Uber Drivers, and one Western Union customer...

[@namtran2235]

Great talk!

[@youarewhatyourelookingfor4496]

Everything is created by the mind. Gold isn’t valuable unless we say it is. Diamonds are pretty, but without all the hype, they’re just pretty rocks. It’s all psychological agreement

[@lizafield9002]

Totally! Thomas More illustrated your point in "Utopia." Gold was a cheap despised metal used for chamber pots. I always felt that stars, tree leaves & clouds were way prettier than gemstones, but it's hard to compete for them or own them, so these jewels go unvalued completely.

[@Baron_Greenback]

Gold is valuable due to its scarcity and its industrial and technology applications. It’s literally created in stars.

[@david203]

About magenta, the color: it is not an invented color. It actually exists as much as any other color in the spectrum of any black body radiation such as that of the Sun, and you can get it in substance form by combining red and blue (reflecting) pigments. The brain does have to create its perception artificially, though, that is correct, because of its limited receptor types. Brown, however, is an invented color.

[@gayedavies2797]

I always say that to students….don’t plop all the colours together unless you want mushy brown …..mud

[@Jo-Anne.Clarke]

@@gayedavies2797I learned this as a child. Had no idea why…. Tks.

[@bossygames]

I like Rory. My new nerd crush

[@miloseveggies8064]

1:02:19 Really creepy that the dude's instinct was to pull out his phone. Didn't even take one second to smile and appreciate the moment.

[@aixzi_official]

so true, and the girl did not noticed she was hanging out with a psychopath

[@DJSTOEK]

More please

[@Kobe29261]

Rory should be the poster-boy for altered perception - just noticed listening to him that advertisement works via negativa. If your product sucks, you should do everything to keep it out of the public eye because people will find out from adoption that you suck - the paradox is the opposite is false if your product is top-notch, failure to signal its quality through expensive advertisement can doom it to neglect

[@DavidHoodEdinburgh]

Compete with Coke? In Scotland Coke is #2 to Irn Bru - seemingly the only country where coke is knocked off its '#1 spot by another fizzy pop!

[@Scottinuk]

There are other countries that Coke is not the number 1. Namely Peru. Plus other countries that have a US trade embargo such as Cuba, likely North Korea etc.

[@ajwright5512]

Please can someone suggest someone else who is even 50% as correct and engaging as Rory, I need to stop mainlining him.

[@ivancarlson953]

@ 36:26 "Just for the LOLs"

[@lhoga785]

House prices part was flawed - said the gaps get bigger but forgot to note, your house appreciates more too unless you’re a FTB.

[@DeWo-m6q]

An economic calculation.

[@intrastatehauling]

I'm cracking up...If anyone saw the movie Catch Me If You Can (which was based on a true story) would know that he's spot on 😂😂😂

[@User-wt9jk]

The story told from 7:50 onwards…how is that a typical Don Draper trick? Don’t recall him using such approach specifically

[@kennethfoster3913]

Wonder how this guy feels about video conferencing now that it's all we're allowed to do

[@papergaery5257]

He actually loves it and is a big advocate for it ... :) clearly emphasizing on the time and cost saved... he also thinks once we get out of the pandemic, a lot of companies would opt to keep a certain percentage of their staff just working from home, through VOIP, and just call in for important stuff..

[@Mrkevi123]

Working from home saves company from providing you retail space to work from.

[@GnomeGninja]

Remote working has virtually zero down sides for most people and businesses.

[@sleepwellclub-meditateandr5225]

14:44 there’s some truth here. Whenever my girlfriend puts on a nurses outfit I perk right up

[@maxkarpushko6837]

I heard about a magician (I think could be misremembering the profession) who trained himself to dilate his pupils by thinking about things trigger strong emotions.

[@TopSpinWilly]

Rory did you ever think that placebo might just be in the head and not really solve physical problems of course if the problem is just mental then it's perfect. I saw a study where asthmatics were giving placebo and it appeared they did great they said they were breathing better they look like they felt better but when they're put on a machine they wer'nt getting any more air.

[@lediableblanc9399]

Did you ever think that physical problems are all in the head, or are you one of those that believe conscious is not a product of the brain?

[@lediableblanc9399]

I guess my point is, so? It seems like that is irrelevant. Or,, what do you mean by physical problems? It seems like you are just creating a context that serves to discredit the findings/idea but with out actually providing any good reason other than creating a context that seems like it should make sense. Have you ever thought that your happiness is all in your head instead of you actually being physically happy? Yeah, you should stop doing the things that are making your life *seem happy and going through the arduous task of making yourself actually physically happy; even if it ruins your life. Get to work

[@david203]

I think this is an extremely important point. Most of the time, the placebo effect is accepted according to reported effects, which is not scientific as compared with measured "real" effects. In these questions, "placebos" means oral pills that contain effectless substances such as starch: Can placebos delay death in late-stage cancer? Can placebos improve pain in the small number of situations where pain can be measured electrically in the nerves? Can placebos improve student test scores consistently and over time? Can placebos have ANY effects on problems that have no significant psychological component, if there are any such?

[@GnomeGninja]

@@lediableblanc9399 if it works (and the placebo effect is real its been proven many times with the scientific method) why would you say "So What?" IT WORKS! Thats what... That should be the point here. What was your again?

[@GnomeGninja]

@@david203 yes its been proven Do 5 min of "research" and you will find the only reason we don't use placebos is they can't make as much money selling starch pills then they can selling opioids....

[@gayedavies2797]

Rory got 2:2 at Cambridge ….Boris is similar maybe as he was a journalist …in that they can waffle or wangle their out of a crisis ….and get people to buy stuff that they have no idea what they are buying but it says I am rich and can choose to do this……capitalism in cities ….probably millennials onwards are very different as they choose each other’s feelings, belonging to a cool social media group and caring for the planet…..

[@bobadams7654]

Rory on form as usual NB pupils dilate if we look at something we desire/love Might be a person or an I-phone etc.

[@sleepsmartsmashstress8705]

A nocebo is NEVER a placebo

[@thisisbemabu]

Rory's always thinks he'smobile phone is switched off when it rings.

[@margaretwarren8825]

So why do we have childrens buggy,s now adais as normal, that don't face the pairents face. Are they trying to detach children from the need from their parents facial conection or learning facial expressions from birth. When out and about the child would be watching and learning & feel secure. Buggy facing out show strangers, fast traffic. For toddlers in buggy, they like the phone to watch. If facing in you can chat to your toddler, can't do that when their back is to you 🤔