Eric Mead: The magic of the placebo

Translator: Andrea Fernández Covelo Reviewer: Servizo de Normalización Lingüística

Hai un tempo que estou interesado no efecto placebo.

Pode parecer algo no que un mago non debería estar interesado

a non ser que o vexades igual ca min: “Cando as persoas cren o suficiente

For some time I have been interested in

the placebo effect,

en algo falso como para que se converta en realidade.”

which might seem like an odd thing

for a magician to be interested in,

Noutras palabras, as pílulas de azucre teñen resultados apreciables

unless you think of it in the terms that I do,

which is, "Something fake

nalgúns tipos de estudos: o efecto placebo.

Só porque a persoa pensa

is believed in enough by somebody

that it becomes something real."

que o que lle está a ocorrer é unha resposta farmacéutica.

In other words, sugar pills

have a measurable effect in certain kinds of studies,

Por exemplo, para o manexo da dor, se cre o suficiente,

the placebo effect,

deixará de sentir dor

just because the person thinks

grazas ao efecto placebo.

Algo falso convértese en algo real porque alguén o percibe así.

that what's happening to them is a pharmaceutical

or some sort of a --

for pain management, for example,

Para que nos entendamos, quero comezar cun truco de maxia moi básico e simple.

if they believe it enough there is a measurable effect in the body

called the placebo effect.

Something fake becomes

Vouvos mostrar como funciona.

something real

É un truco que leva nos libros de maxia infantís

because of someone's perception of it.

desde a década dos 50.

In order for us to understand each other,

Eu aprendino nos anos 70 dun libro chamado Cub Scout Magic.

I want to start by showing you a rudimentary,

very simple magic trick.

Primeiro vou facer o truco, logo explicareino

And I'm going to show you how it works. This is a trick

e despois direivos por que volo ensino.

that's been in every children's magic book since at least the 1950s.

Vou comezar.

Podedes examinar a man e o coitelo.

I learned it myself from Cub Scout Magic in the 1970s.

Vou suxeitar o coitelo no puño desta forma.

I'll do it for you, and then I'll explain it.

Vou botar tamén a manga cara a atrás

And then I'll explain why I explained it.

para que vexades que non teño nada.

So, here's what happens.

Vou apertar o pulso tamén para que se vexa que nada pode viaxar

The knife, which you can examine; my hand, which you could examine.

I'm just going to hold the knife in my fist like this.

nin cara a arriba nin cara a abaixo mentres teña a man aquí.

I'll get my sleeve back.

And to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve

O obxectivo disto é bastante simple: vou abrir a man

I'm just going to squeeze my wrist right here.

That way you can see that at no time

e, se todo vai ben,

can anything travel, as long as I'm squeezing there

o puro magnetismo animal sosterá o coitelo.

nothing can go up or down my sleeve.

And the object of this is quite simple.

De feito, está tan ben suxeito que podo sacudir o brazo

I'm going to open my hand,

e o coitelo non cae.

and hopefully, if all is well,

Non sobe nin baixa nada da manga, sen trampas,

my pure animal magnetism will hold the knife.

e podedes observalo todo.

In fact it's held so tightly in place

Tachán!

that I can shake it,

and the knife does not come off.

Este é un truco que ensino con frecuencia aos nenos que lles interesa a maxia

Nothing goes up or down my sleeve,

porque se pode aprender moito sobre o engano con este truco,

no trickery. And you can examine everything.

aínda que sexa moi doado metodoloxicamente falando.

Ta-da!

(Applause)

Probablemente moitos xa o coñecedes. O que pasa é o seguinte:

So, this is a trick that I often teach to young children

collo o coitelo e aperto o pulso coa man

that are interested in magic, because you can learn

a great deal about deception by studying

para que nada suba nin baixe da manga.

this very -- even though it's a very simple trick methodologically.

Isto é mentira.

Probably many of you in the room know this trick.

A razón pola que teño a man no pulso

What happens is this.

é, en realidade, o segredo da ilusión óptica.

I hold the knife in my hand.

I say I'm going to grab hold of my wrist

Nun segundo, cando a miña man deixa de estar á vista,

to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve,

that is a lie.

o dedo índice cambia de posición ata que

The reason I'm holding onto my wrist

is because that's actually the secret

se coloca desta forma.

of the illusion.

- Boa esa! - Boa esa!

In a moment when my hand moves from facing you

Anda por aí alguén que non tivo infancia.

to being away from you,

this finger right here, my index finger is just going to shift

from where it is, to a position

Entón, comeza aquí e, mentres vou xirando,

o dedo cambia de posición.

pointing out like this.

Podemos falar de por que é un engano e por que non nos fixamos

Nice one.

Someone who didn't have a childhood is out there.

en que só hai tres dedos aquí abaixo.

É pola forma na que a mente procesa os datos.

(Laughter)

Non os conta así: un, dous e tres.

So, it goes like this, from here, right.

Agrúpaos.

And as I move around my finger shifts.

Pero iso é outro tema.

And we could talk about why this is deceptive,

Abro a man e está aí pegado, non polo magnetismo animal,

why you don't notice there are only three fingers down here,

senón por unha artimaña: o dedo suxeita o coitelo.

because the mind, and the way it processes information,

it doesn't count, one, two, three. It groups them.

Cando o volvo acochar, pasa o mesmo que antes.

But that's not really what this is about. Right? And then I open my hand up.

A medida que xiro, non se ve o momento no que o dedo

Obviously it's clinging there, not by animal magnetism,

volve á súa posición.

Por último, quito a man e amoso o coitelo.

but by chicanery,

Este é un truco que lle podedes facer aos vosos amigos e veciños. Grazas.

my index finger being there.

And then when I close my finger, same thing,

Agora, que ten isto que ver co efecto placebo?

as I move back, this motion

kind of covers the moving back of my finger.

I take this hand away. You give the knife out.

Lin un estudo hai aproximadamente un ano que me deixou abraiado.

There is a trick you can do for your friends and neighbors. Thanks.

Non son médico nin investigador, polo que quedei moi sorprendido.

Now, (Laughter)

what does that have to do with the placebo effect?

Resulta que se administras o placebo nunha pílula de cor branca

I read a study a year or so ago

that really blew my mind wide open.

coa forma dunha aspirina redonda, consegue bos resultados.

I'm not a doctor or a researcher, so this, to me,

was an astonishing thing.

En cambio, se se cambia a forma na que se toma o placebo

It turns out that if you administer

utilizando unha pílula máis pequena, de cor azul

a placebo in the form of a white pill,

that's like aspirin shaped --

e cunha letra debuxada, será moito máis efectiva,

it's just a round white pill -- it has some certain measurable effect.

a pesar de que nada disto ten que ver co saber farmacéutico.

But if you change the form that you give the placebo in,

like you make a smaller pill,

Son pílulas de azucre, pero é mellor se son de cor azul.

and color it blue, and stamp a letter into it,

it is actually measurably more effective.

Que é isto? Quedei pasmado.

Even though neither one of these things

E, ademais, isto non é todo.

has any pharmaceutical -- they're sugar pills.

As máis efectivas son as cápsulas.

But a white pill is not as good as a blue pill.

Unha cápsula amarela por un lado e vermella polo outro

What? (Laughter) That really flipped me out.

é moito mellor que se é branca.

Turns out though, that that's not even where it stops.

As doses tamén importan.

If you have capsules,

Tomar unha pílula dúas veces ao día

non é tan efectivo como tomar tres pílulas…

they're more effective than tablets in any form.

A colored capsule, that's yellow on one end and red on the other

Síntoo, non lembro a estatística.

O tema é…

is better than a white capsule.

Dosage has something to do with this.

Estas doses tamén condicionan o efecto placebo.

One pill twice a day

E, para o efecto placebo definitivo, teriamos a agulla.

is not as good at three pills --

I don't remember the statistic now. Sorry.

But the point is ...

Se lle inxectamos a un paciente uns cm3 de sustancia inerte,

(Laughter) ... these dosages have something to do with it.

And the form has something to do with it.

And if you want the ultimate in placebo,

é unha imaxe moi chocante para el,

moito máis que se toma unha cápsula de cor branca.

you've go to the needle.

Hai un gráfico no que se explica, pero xa volo mostrarei

Right? A syringe with some inert --

a couple CCs of some inert something,

cando teñamos un proxector.

A cousa é que unha pílula de cor branca non é tan eficaz como unha azul

and you inject this into a patient ...

Well this is such a powerful image in their mind,

it's so much stronger than the white pill.

nin como unha cápsula nin como unha agulla,

It's a really, this graph, well I'll show it to you

aínda que ningunha destas cousas sexan sinónimo de calidade farmacéutica.

some other time when we have slides.

The point is

O que o volve real para o corpo é que cremos niso

the white pill is not as good as the blue pill

e, polo tanto, fai máis efecto.

is not as good as the capsule is not as good as the needle.

Quixen probar esa idea e aplicala a un truco de maxia

And none of it has any real pharmaceutical quality,

it's only your belief that makes it real

obviamente falso, pero facendo que parecese real.

in your body and makes a stronger effect.

I wanted to see if I could take that idea

and apply it to a magic trick.

Polo estudo que comentei antes, sabemos que cando se quere realidade

And take something that is obviously a fake trick

hai que usar a agulla.

and make it seem real.

Este é un alfinete de 17 cm que está moi afiado.

And we know from that study

Vou esterilizalo un pouco.

that when you want reality, you go to the needle.

Esta é a miña carne de verdade, non é a típica carne artificial de Damian.

This is a seven-inch hatpin. It's very, very sharp,

Esta é a miña pel, non un efecto especial de Hollywood.

and I'm going to just sterilize it a tiny bit.

Vou atravesala e o alfinete sairá polo outro lado.

This is really my flesh. This is not

Damian's special-grown flesh.

O outro día no hotel estaba facendo este truco para uns amigos

That's my skin right there. This is not a Hollywood special effect.

I'm going to pierce my skin

e unha muller que non coñecía case se desmaia.

and run this needle through to the other side.

Se vos mareades ou desmaiades con facilidade, recomendo

If you're queasy -- (Laughs)

que non miredes os próximos 30 segundos.

if you faint easily -- I was doing this for some friends

Vale, fago a peor parte de costas.

in the hotel room last night, and some people that I didn't know,

Podedes mirar para outro lado se queredes.

and one woman almost passed out.

O que vou facer é atravesar a carne da parte inferior do brazo.

So, I suggest if you get queasy easy

that you look away for about the next 30 --

in fact, you know what, I'll do the first bad part behind it.

You'll get to see, you can look away too if you'd like to.

Perdoa, estoute poñendo nervioso?

- Non. Todo ben. - Perfecto.

E logo continúo atravesando a pel ata que saia polo outro lado.

So, here is what happens, right here,

the beginning of my flesh

at the lower part of my arm I just make

a little pierce.

Basicamente, agora estamos igual que antes co truco do coitelo.

I'm sorry, man. Am I freaking you out?

OK, and then just through my skin a tiny bit,

and then out the other side like this.

Máis ou menos.

Now, essentially we're in the same position we were in

Aínda que agora non podedes contar os dedos, certo?

Aquí están: un, dous, tres, catro e cinco.

with the knife trick.

(Laughter)

En fin...

Sort of.

Sei o que pensa a xente cando ve isto.

But you can't count my fingers right now can you?

“Non creo que sexa tan parvo como para pincharse

So, let me show them to you. That's one, two

three, four, five.

só para entreternos uns cantos minutos.”

Mirade ben.

Yes, well...

Vese ben desde atrás?

I know what people think when they see this.

They go, "Well, he's certainly not dumb enough

Si, xa sei.

to stab himself through the skin to entertain us for a few minutes.

A xente de atrás dirá: “Pois si que non o mirara ben.”

So, let me give you a little peek.

Mentres, as persoas da outra sala están achegándose.

How's that look out there? Pretty good.

Mirade atentamente outra vez.

(Laughs)

Esta é a miña pel. Non é un efecto especial de Hollywood.

Yeah, I know. (Laughs)

É a miña carne. Podo mover o alfinete e todo.

And the people in the back go, "OK, I didn't really see that."

Perdoade. Se estades mareados, non miredes isto.

People in the satellite room are starting to move in now.

Let me give you good close look at this.

A xente de atrás e a que mire o vídeo dirá:

That really is my skin. That is not a Hollywood special effect.

“A verdade é que son efectos especiais moi reais,

That's my flesh, and I can twist that around.

pero se fose verdade sairía sangue deses dous buracos.”

I'm sorry. If you're getting queasy, look away,

don't look at the thing.

People in the back or people on video years from now watching this

Ben, se queredes que sangre…

will go, "Well yeah, that looks kind of neat

in some sort of effect there, but if it were real he would be --

Velaí tedes.

see there's a hole there and a hole there, if it were real he would be bleeding.

Well let me work up some blood for you.

(Laughter)

Yes, there it is.

(Applause)

Normalmente, quitaría o alfinete,

limparía o brazo e amosaría que non hai ferida.

Porén, creo que neste contexto, e para facer que algo falso

(Laughter)

Normally now, I would take the needle out.

se converta en real, déixoo pinchado e marcho do escenario.

I would clean off my arm, and I would show you that there are no wounds.

But I think in this context

Estarei por aquí con vós os próximos días.

and with the idea of taking something fake

and making it into something real,

Non faltedes. Moitas grazas.

I'm just going to leave it there,

and walk off the stage.

(Laughter)

I will be seeing you several times over the next few days.

I hope you're looking forward to that. Thank you very much.

(Laughter)

(Applause)