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Something lost in discussions of the placebo effect is that placebos have effects. Different cultures respond differently to different effects. Germans, for example, have a much higher response to shots than pills. Americans like pills. Statistical averages, obviously, but the fact of the matter is, a sugar pill has about a 30% chance of making you feel as good as an aspirin, even if I tell you it's a sugar pill. Homeopathics work on me, and I will freely and knowledgeably mock homeopathics. The fact of the matter is, I have an opinion, so I'm psychologically invested, and we don't understand a lot about the psychosomatic effects of medicine.