Limitless

A self-fulfilling prophecy, according to David Newman's Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, "is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of being made, causes the expected event to occur and thus confirms the prophecy's own 'accuracy'" (Newman 59).  I've always found this idea fascinating, especially the way that self-fulfilling prophecies can affect people in a physical way.  Newman writes of the affect a placebo drug had on balding men-- 42% noticed thicker hair or that hair loss had stopped.  He shows that often, when people think they're being treated for a condition, their bodies react positively.  The inverse is often true, too:  When people think they're being exposed to something harmful, their bodies can react negatively (Newman 59).

Last night I saw the movie Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and it got me thinking about self-fulfilling prophecies and the placebo effect.  If you don't know what the movie is about, watch the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THE_hhk1Gzc

After reading about the placebo effect, I couldn't help thinking, throughout the entire movie, that the pill was fake and at the end of the movie, we'd find out that Edward Morra had it in him the whole time:  He just needed to believe in himself!  Cheesy, yes, but not out of the realm of possibility. However, that wasn't the way the movie went, which you're probably glad to know if you were planning to see it.  I'm not one to give away the ending.



I wonder, though, what would happen if a group of people viewed Limitless and then were given the "exact pill" from the movie. Would the placebo work?  I wouldn't be surprised if some, with the help of a little confidence, improved their lives, maybe to a drastic extent.  Or what if they were given a pill that was supposed to do the opposite? Maybe they'd lose their jobs or become depressed.

Either way, the placebo effect illustrates the amazing power of the human mind.  It's incredible what a little positive (or negative) thinking can do.

Newman, David. Sociology, Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Ed 8. 2010.