Eric Mead: The magic of the placebo

Translator: Martin Ukrop Reviewer: Martin Francis Gilbert Máik

For some time I have been interested in

Už nejaký čas sa zaujímam

the placebo effect,

o placebo efekt.

which might seem like an odd thing

Možno sa vám zdá zvláštne,

for a magician to be interested in,

že sa o také niečo zaujíma iluzionista,

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

ale pozrite sa na vec z môjho pohľadu:

which is, "Something fake

"Niečomu, čo nie je skutočné,

is believed in enough by somebody

ľudia veria tak veľmi,

that it becomes something real."

že sa to stane skutočným."

In other words, sugar pills

Inak povedané, tabletky obsahujúce len cukor

have a measurable effect in certain kinds of studies,

majú v niektorých výskumoch merateľný účinok,

the placebo effect,

takzvaný placebo efekt.

just because the person thinks

Len preto, že človek verí,

that what's happening to them is a pharmaceutical

že to, čo sa s ním deje, je farmaceutického základu,

or some sort of a --

alebo je to napríklad

for pain management, for example,

niečo na tlmenie bolesti,

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

ak tomu veria dostatočne, tak prichádza merateľný účinok,

called the placebo effect.

ktorý sa nazýva placebo efekt.

Something fake becomes

Niečo predstierané

something real

sa stáva skutočnosťou

because of someone's perception of it.

len kvôli tomu, ako to ľudia vnímajú.

In order for us to understand each other,

Aby sme si navzájom rozumeli,

I want to start by showing you a rudimentary,

chcem začať tým, že vám predvediem základný,

very simple magic trick.

veľmi jednoduchý trik.

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

A potom vám prezradím jeho princíp.

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

Tento trik je v každej knihe kúziel pre deti aspoň od 50-tych rokov.

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

Ja sám som sa ho naučil z Knihy kúziel pre skautov okolo roku 1970.

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

Najskôr ho predvediem a potom ho vysvetlím.

And then I'll explain why I explained it.

A hneď potom vysvetlím, prečo som ho vysvetlil.

So, here's what happens.

Takže takto sa to začína:

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

Moja ruka a nôž, obidve si môžete prezrieť.

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

Nôž chytím takto pevne do dlane.

I'll get my sleeve back.

Odhrniem si rukáv.

And to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve

A pre istotu, že mi nič nepôjde z rukáva,

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

si budem pevne držať aj zápästie.

That way you can see that at no time

Tak si môžete byť istí,

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

že kým pevne zvieram zápästie,

nothing can go up or down my sleeve.

nič mi nepôjde z rukáva ani do neho.

And the object of this is quite simple.

Zámer tohto všetkého je jednoduchý.

I'm going to open my hand,

Pomaly otvorím dlaň

and hopefully, if all is well,

a ak všetko pôjde, ako má,

my pure animal magnetism will hold the knife.

môj čistý živočíšny magnetizmus udrží ten nôž.

In fact it's held so tightly in place

Drží tam vlastne tak silno,

that I can shake it,

že ním môžem aj triasť,

and the knife does not come off.

a ten nôž nespadne.

Nothing goes up or down my sleeve,

A nič sa nehýbalo z môjho rukáva ani do neho,

no trickery. And you can examine everything.

žiadne podvody. A všetko si môžete prezrieť.

Ta-da!

Ta-da!

(Applause)

(Potlesk)

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

Toto je trik, ktorý často učím deti,

that are interested in magic, because you can learn

ktoré sa zaujímajú o kúzla, pretože sa z neho

a great deal about deception by studying

naučíte veľa o podvádzaní a ilúziách,

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

aj keď je to veľmi jednoduchý trik.

Probably many of you in the room know this trick.

Pravdepodobne mnoho z prítomných pozná tento trik.

What happens is this.

V skutočnosti sa deje toto.

I hold the knife in my hand.

Najskôr držím nôž v ruke.

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

Vravím, že si budem držať zápästie,

to make sure nothing goes up or down my sleeve,

aby sme sa uistili, že mi nič nepôjde z rukáva.

that is a lie.

To je lož.

The reason I'm holding onto my wrist

Dôvod, prečo držím svoje zápästie,

is because that's actually the secret

je priamo tajomstvom

of the illusion.

tohto triku.

In a moment when my hand moves from facing you

V momente, keď otáčam ruku smerom od vás,

to being away from you,

aby ste mi nevideli do dlane,

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

tento prst, môj ukazovák, sa presunie

from where it is, to a position

zo svojho miesta do pozície,

pointing out like this.

kde takto trčí.

Nice one.

Áno, úžasné.

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

V hľadisku je niekto, kto nemal detstvo.

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

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

Takže, presúva sa takto.

And as I move around my finger shifts.

Keď otočím ruku, prst sa presunie.

And we could talk about why this is deceptive,

A mohli by sme sa rozprávať, prečo vás to oklame,

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

prečo si nevšimnete, že tu dole sú len tri prsty,

because the mind, and the way it processes information,

je to kvôli mysli a spôsobu, akým spracováva informácie,

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

myseľ nepočíta, jeden, dva, tri, ale vytvára skupiny.

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

Ale o to vlastne nejde. A potom otvorím ruku.

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

Samozrejme, nedrží tam živočíšnym magnetizmom,

but by chicanery,

ale trikom,

my index finger being there.

pretože tam mám ukazovák.

And then when I close my finger, same thing,

A presne to isté sa stane, keď zavriem dlaň,

as I move back, this motion

keď otáčam ruku naspäť,

kind of covers the moving back of my finger.

ten pohyb vlastne kryje pohyb toho prsta.

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

Teraz môžem ruku pustiť a vrátiť nôž.

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

Je to trik, ktorý môžete ukázať priateľom a susedom. Ďakujem.

Now, (Laughter)

(Smiech)

what does that have to do with the placebo effect?

A ako s tým súvisí ten placebo efekt?

I read a study a year or so ago

Asi pred rokom som čítal jednu analýzu,

that really blew my mind wide open.

ktorá ma naozaj ohromila.

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

Nie som doktor ani výskumník,

was an astonishing thing.

takže ma to naozaj prekvapilo.

It turns out that if you administer

Ukázalo sa, že ak podáte

a placebo in the form of a white pill,

placebo vo forme bielej tabletky,

that's like aspirin shaped --

teda tvaru asi ako aspirín --

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

okrúhla biela tabletka -- dosiahnete istý merateľný výsledok.

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

Ale ak zmeníte formu, ktorou placebo podávate,

like you make a smaller pill,

napríklad použijete menšiu tabletku

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

modrej farby a s vyrazeným písmenom,

it is actually measurably more effective.

bude to mať merateľne vyšší účinok.

Even though neither one of these things

Aj napriek tomu, že farmaceutický účinok

has any pharmaceutical -- they're sugar pills.

nemá ani jedna -- je to len cukor.

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

Ale modrá tabletka je lepšia ako biela tabletka.

What? (Laughter) That really flipped me out.

Čože? (Smiech) To ma naozaj dostalo.

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

Ukazuje sa však, že farbou to nekončí.

If you have capsules,

Ak použijete kapsuly, účinok bude väčší,

they're more effective than tablets in any form.

ako z akýchkoľvek tabliet.

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

A farebná kapsula, napríklad žlto-červená,

is better than a white capsule.

je lepšia ako biela.

Dosage has something to do with this.

Na dávkovaní tiež záleží.

One pill twice a day

Jedna tableta dvakrát denne

is not as good at three pills --

nie je taká dobrá ako tri tablety...

I don't remember the statistic now. Sorry.

nepamätám si tie štatistiky presne. Prepáčte.

But the point is ...

Ale pointa je...

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

(Smiech) ...že aj na dávkovaní záleží.

And the form has something to do with it.

Tak ako záleží aj na forme.

And if you want the ultimate in placebo,

Ale ak chcete najlepšie placebo,

you've go to the needle.

siahnite po injekciách.

Right? A syringe with some inert --

Injekcia s niečím, čo nereaguje --

a couple CCs of some inert something,

keď vpichnete niekoľko mililitrov

and you inject this into a patient ...

niečoho takého pacientovi,

Well this is such a powerful image in their mind,

vyvolá to v jeho mysli veľmi silnú predstavu --

it's so much stronger than the white pill.

je to mnohonásobne silnejšie ako biela tableta.

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

Ten graf to výborne ukazuje --

some other time when we have slides.

ukážem vám ho, ale až niekedy nabudúce.

The point is

Pointa ale je,

the white pill is not as good as the blue pill

že biela tableta je horšia ako modrá tableta,

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

ktorá je horšia ako kapsula, ktorá ale nemá na injekciu.

And none of it has any real pharmaceutical quality,

A nič z toho nemá farmaceutický základ,

it's only your belief that makes it real

len vaša viera to robí skutočným

in your body and makes a stronger effect.

a spôsobuje silnejší účinok vo vašom tele.

I wanted to see if I could take that idea

Chcel som zistiť, či sa táto myšlienka

and apply it to a magic trick.

dá využiť v nejakom kúzelníckom triku.

And take something that is obviously a fake trick

Zmeniť niečo, čo je očividne len trik,

and make it seem real.

na niečo, čo sa bude zdať skutočné.

And we know from that study

A zo spomínanej štúdie vieme,

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

že keď chcete skutočnosť, siahnete po ihlách.

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

Toto je 18cm dlhá klobúková ihlica. Je veľmi ostrá.

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

Len ju trochu sterilizujem.

This is really my flesh. This is not

Toto je naozaj moje telo.

Damian's special-grown flesh.

Nie je to žiadna umelo vytvorená ruka.

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

A toto tu je moja koža. Nie je to žiadny Hollywoodsky efekt.

I'm going to pierce my skin

Teraz prepichnem kožu tak,

and run this needle through to the other side.

aby ihla vyšla na druhej strane.

If you're queasy -- (Laughs)

Ak vám býva nevoľno alebo rýchlo omdlievate...

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

(Smiech) Ukazoval som to včera večer v hoteli

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

niekoľkým známym a aj neznámym ľuďom

and one woman almost passed out.

a jedna že skoro omdlela.

So, I suggest if you get queasy easy

Takže navrhujem, ak vám býva nevoľno,

that you look away for about the next 30 --

pozerajte sa inam najbližších asi 30 --

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

alebo, urobím tú prvú časť z druhej strany.

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

Vy to budete vidieť, ale môžete sa pozerať preč, ak chcete.

So, here is what happens, right here,

Takže kým nevidíte,

the beginning of my flesh

v spodnej časti ruky,

at the lower part of my arm I just make

tam, kde začína svalstvo,

a little pierce.

robím malý vpich.

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

Prepáčte tam vzadu, desí vás to?

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

OK, a teraz chvíľu cez kožu,

and then out the other side like this.

a nakoniec von na druhej strane.

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

Teraz sme vlastne v rovnakom stave,

with the knife trick.

ako v triku s nožom.

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

Sort of.

Skoro.

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

Ale teraz mi už nemôžete počítať prsty, však?

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

Tak vám ich ukážem. Prvý, druhý,

three, four, five.

tretí, štvrtý, piaty.

Yes, well...

Áno,...

I know what people think when they see this.

viem, čo si ľudia myslia, keď vidia toto.

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

Myslia si: "Určite nie je taký hlúpy,

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

že by si prepichol kožu, aby nás na pár minút zabavil."

So, let me give you a little peek.

Tak sa na to pozrime.

How's that look out there? Pretty good.

Ako to tam vyzerá? Celkom dobre.

(Laughs)

(Smiech)

Yeah, I know. (Laughs)

Áno, áno, viem. (Smiech)

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

A tí vzadu vravia: "Veď som tam poriadne ani nevidel."

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

Ľudia sa pozerajú na svoje obrazovky z bližšia.

Let me give you good close look at this.

Pozrite sa na to teda dobre z blízka.

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

To je naozaj moja koža. Nie je to žiadny Hollywoodsky efekt.

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

To sú moje svaly, môžem tým aj hýbať.

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

Ospravedlňujem sa -- ak vám je nevoľno,

don't look at the thing.

nepozerajte sa na to.

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

Ľudia vzadu aj tí, čo to ešte len budú pozerať na videu

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

povedia: "No áno, vyzerá to celkom dobre,

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

je to celkom dobrý trik, ale keby to bolo naozaj --

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

veď má ranu na jednej aj druhej strane, keby to bolo naozaj, tak by krvácal."

Well let me work up some blood for you.

Tak vám ukážem trochu krvi.

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

Yes, there it is.

Áno, tu ju máme.

(Applause)

(Potlesk)

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

Normally now, I would take the needle out.

Za normálnych okolností by som tú ihlu teraz vytiahol.

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

Vyčistil by som si ruku a ukázal vám, že nemám žiadne rany.

But I think in this context

Ale myslím si, že v dnešnom kontexte,

and with the idea of taking something fake

v kontexte nepravých vecí,

and making it into something real,

ktoré pretvárame na veci skutočné,

I'm just going to leave it there,

si ju tam nechám zapichnutú

and walk off the stage.

a odídem z pódia.

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

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

Počas najbližších dní sa ešte niekoľkokrát uvidíme.

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

Dúfam, že sa na to tešíte. Ďakujem veľmi pekne.

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

(Applause)

(Potlesk)