You’re ooonly cheating yourself

Science is about disproving hypotheses, and no matter what the armchair conspiracy theorists tell you, torpedoing cherished ideas is a very good way to make a name for yourself in academia. Here are two fun ones from the literature this month. Firstly: are sniffer dogs for real? Animals respond to humans, after all, and especially domesticated animals: that’s the point of them. This is why the placebo effect is so wonderfully effective in animals, and of course in children. viaYou’re ooonly cheating yourself – Bad Science.