On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 08:50:46PM -0700, Daniel Burrows wrote: ...
> If you follow the article Ron linked to above, special discounts are > apparently subject to the same effect. In a study where people took > supposedly mind-enhancing placebo drinks, people who drank the more > expensive version (around $1.80) were twice as effective *even though > the researchers explicitly told them that the discount version (around > $0.80) was exactly the same substance*. What's amazing to me is that even when a product is *glaringly* inferior, this effect continues. In a discussion with one of my professors just yesterday, he related a story about a past co-worker who believed windows NT was the greatest thing since sliced bread -- reliable, never a problem etc etc... subsequently it was revealed that this guy was *re-installing* NT *EVERY WEEK* to ensure that it worked properly. My new car is the uber-car. It has flawless performance, it has never failed to start, idles as smooth as a baby's bottom, and never even needs an oil change. I just take it in to the mechanic every month to have the engine rebuilt. A
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