The power of the placebo has nothing to do, by definition, with the pharmacological properties of the drug; rather, its effect derives from the entirely false belief that the drug is effective. But this belief is not created out of nowhere; it is manufactured within a cultural context. Anything that imbues the treatment with greater authenticity, that creates an illusion of credibility, will play on the mind of the patient, strengthening his misguided belief in the drug and, by implication, its efficacy.
