Exactly. You write down your observations for each day and then compare them to the list to see if you felt better on days when you were taking the actual pill.
Only if it’s not too costly to check, of course, and sometimes it is.
Edit: I think gwern’s done a number of self-trials, though I haven’t looked at his exact methodology.
Edit again: In case I haven’t been clear enough, I’m proposing a method to distinguish between “sugar pills that are magic” and “regular sugar pills”.
Exactly. You write down your observations for each day and then compare them to the list to see if you felt better on days when you were taking the actual pill.
Only if it’s not too costly to check, of course, and sometimes it is.
Edit: I think gwern’s done a number of self-trials, though I haven’t looked at his exact methodology.
Edit again: In case I haven’t been clear enough, I’m proposing a method to distinguish between “sugar pills that are magic” and “regular sugar pills”.
Edit3: ninja’d