Things that don’t add up: the puzzling challenges of placebos Estimated Reading Time: 3 min, 59 sec As noted last blog, there is mounting evidence that placebos seem to defy traditional reasoning by somehow producing meaningful results. In their systematic review, Hurst et al. (2020) found a small to moderate (around 5%) placebo benefit for […]
937 words; estimated reading time 4 mins, 41 secs. Stimulate your mind I find the whole gimmick culture that plagues sport, exercise, and health absolutely fascinating. The thought processes and craftiness of the people who think up, and market these things is as intriguing as the vulnerability and gullibility of the people putting their money […]
Since 2006 the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has annually surveyed health and fitness professionals to get their views on exercise trends and fads. There is traditionally some tension between evidence-based innovations and media-driven trends, and so I’ve followed this large international survey with some interest. The list of what’s hot and (by omission) […]
Sometimes I wonder about the supposed advances in sciences, particularly the rapid emergence of technologies, and whether they are often more problematic than helpful. We live in a world where we prefer to see things as causes and effects. Mostly we like to believe that when something happens there has to be an identifiable cause […]