Round Table

Round Table is a discussion night here at Petit Portál. Nothing is off the table, with weekly topics (this weeks' below!) ranging in theme from spirituality, to kink, to science, to art-- and everything in between; that we explore respectfully through our shared and differing viewpoints. Come, having explored the week's topic, or ready to! This season of Round Table is hosted and mediated by Ash Sanders! With event space host, Li Michelle.

This week's topic: Real/Fake

-The Controversial Power of Social Placebo-

How often have you heard someone scoff at sugar pills and say, "Well, that's JUST the placebo effect?" Well -- the joke's on them. After years of the placebo effect being treated like a quick-fix for dummies and dupes, science is now telling us that placebo may be one of the most powerful medical and social tools we've got -- and that we're actually evolutionarily and socially wired to be impacted by it.

In this Roundtable discussion, my friend and big-time placebo research, Chelsea Shields-Strayer, will join us to talk about the history and power of placebo, the dangers of negative placebo (nocebo) and how we can live our lives to harness the power of the first and avoid the power of the second. We'll talk about Ghanaian medicine men, social evolution, religion, marketing, fake knee surgeries that heal, and more!

Discussion reading links:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yj7IMtFW8Wk

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/7/15792188/placebo-effect-explained

About Ash:

Ash Sanders is a journalist, audio producer, and creative who writes about place, environment, religion and mental health. She's also an erstwhile climate organizer and performance artist who creates circles for processing public or political grief. As a young weirdo trapped at BYU and looking for her people, she started a weekly discussion night on art, politics, and psychology that turned how she saw the whole world on its head and introduced her to the fellow seekers and loveable freaks of Provo. Since then, you can find her organizing salons and elaborate theme parties here in Utah or in her other home in Brooklyn. Oh, and rest assured: she'll never miss an opportunity for an around-the-room question. :)