Simple: ask. Give a dozen people a euphoric, and another dozen a
vitamin or something, then have them all answer multiple-choice
questions about how they feel. If the answers to some question
correlate strongly enough with those who took the real drug, you've
shown a measured effect (certainly not a conclusive one, but at
least better than nothing).
> There are some ways to experiment on your own, maintaining a healthy
> level of skepticism until you see some noticeable effect that is new
> in your experience and 'appears' to be causally associated with the
> substance being used.
This is generally a waste of time, even for someone who is skeptical
and knowledgeable about research, because placebo effects work even
on those who think they don't.
> How would you measure the improvements in your life from zen
> meditations?
I've never tried to, but I suppose I could if I really wanted to.
Hmm. How do you give a placebo for sitting?
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC