Cheap drunk

The strange art of placebo                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 October 05, 2023 | [Read Online]( Cheap drunk The strange art of placebo [Cole Schafer]( October 05, 2023 [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20The%20Process.&body=Cheap%20drunk%3A%20The%20strange%20art%20of%20placebo%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.getthesticky.com%2Fp%2Fplacebo) placebo In Rory Sutherland’s book [Alchemy](, he divulges a dirty trick practiced by shoddy bartenders looking to cut costs on liquor. When a customer walks into a bar and orders a Gin & Tonic, the bartender will wash the glass with gin, toss in some ice cubes, pour in some tonic and top it off with a bit of lime. Unless the customer is Wolfgang Puck, they don’t have the palate to decipher between a true Gin & Tonic and a faux Gin & Tonic. So, they order another and then another and then another. Several Gin & Tonics later, the customer is talking loudly, slurring their words and stumbling around like a babbling idiot, despite the fact that they haven’t ingested so much as a tablespoon of alcohol. Why? Placebo. Placebo, more or less, is when our perception is used to improve our experience. While I was living and working in Chicago, I noticed that every train station would show me and my fellow passengers precisely how long we had to wait before the next train arrived. This countdown didn’t make the train run any faster, but it allowed everyone to have a better experience (and practice a hell of a lot more patience) because we weren’t left guessing how long we would be waiting. Placebos are constantly at work all around us, shaping our experiences. Cocktails served in heavy, crystal glasses. MacBooks housed not in wrinkled, paper bags but sleek, ivory cases. Restaurants cloaked in hushed, dramatic lighting. Sneakers sold in limited supply drops. From a marketing and advertising standpoint, the placebo is just as much a part of the product as the product itself. This is the very reason why brands like Apple, Starbucks and Adidas spend hundreds of millions of dollars obsessing over everything from the aesthetic of their stores down to the look and feel of their packaging. As long as placebos aren’t being used to steal, cheat or harm someone, they should not just be tolerated but encouraged. By [Cole Schafer]( P.S. Did this newsletter leave you feeling inspired? Tell someone to [subscribe](. [tw]( [ig]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © 2023 The Process 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv](