Placebo Effect: Wonderfest Science Lecture & Food Trucks | SoMa
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Monarch Gardens | 428 11th Street, San Francisco, CA
Event Details
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Ask a Scientist: Fun Nerdy Lectures and Q&A | SF
Ask a Scientist is a casual, educational, entertaining lecture series that takes place at cafes and other informal venues around San Francisco.
The talks feature an expert speaker on a scientific topic, a short presentation, and the opportunity to ask all those burning questions that have been keeping you up at night. No tests, grades, or pressure — just food, drinks, socializing, and conversation about the mysteries of the universe.
Ask a Scientist and Wonderfest present Placebo and the Illusory Nature of Perception, a fun science lecture on Monday, June 2, 2014.
The word placebo, from Latin “I shall please,” was defined in Quincy’s Lexicon-Medicum (1811) as “[any medicine] adapted more to please than to benefit the patient”. But as you probably know, pharmacologically inert “sugar pills” can do much more than just please — they can bring about very real physical benefits for patients suffering from a range of painful and debilitating conditions. This extraordinary phenomenon is both tangibly promising, in terms of disease management, and intellectually tantalizing.
You gotta wonder: Are people really being cured? Do placebos work on children? How about people with cognitive impairments? Are hypnosis, acupuncture, and prayer related to the placebo effect? Are there certain conditions that are completely impervious to placebos? UCSF’s Dr. Howard Fields will answer our questions and share his expertise on the tremendously fascinating placebo (and nocebo) effect.
Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.
Cost: FREE*
