I believe the placebo effect to be very true, I don't know why though. For example, it is very rare that I get ill, I haven't been sick for 5 years now, and I always eat undercooked food/old food/drink too much/do whatever, because I honestly believe that I won't get ill, and I don't. Ever notice how successful people are always upbeat and really believe stuff is gonna happen? From reading his autobiography Richard Branson was really like that. Or how us pessimists always feel when somethings going well, something will happen to screw it up, and it usually does, eg. after months managing to get my band sorted, then the drummer decides they don't wanna do it anymore. It also links to some theory which I can't remember the name of, that the universe is like frames of a movie, and you can change which direction you will take, and there's thousands of other universes where you take another path. It also links in with Satanism, with what I can remember, it says that you are your own God of your life, and within reason, you can change what happens in the world around you, and if you really believe something will happen, it can. I find it a very logical and interesting set of beliefs, which contrary to popular belief, has nothing to do with Satan, it was given the name by Anton La Vey as a way to scare people, and to show how people can be afraid of simply a word. Thats my rant over anyway.