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Bionic Bands? legit? placebo? or snake oil?

HighonLife

Bluelighter
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
7,873
So last friday i was at a local flea market, there was a vendor there selling bionic bands

i got a demonstration from the lady, she had me stand on one leg n pushed me down by my arm on the side i had my leg up n i had to put my foot down quickly, then in my other hand she had me hold the band n did the exact same test, i was able to withstand her force much much more so then without it

then she had me hold my arm straight out n tried to push my hand down, i resisted easily, then she had me put my cell phone to my chest and i was no longer able to resist her force as well, then i held ,my phone to my chest n held the band in the hand she was pushin down n again i easily resisted her force

i made sure to note if she did things differently or didnt use as much force n i can assure you the demonstration was on the up n up

seriously it was kind of a total mind fuck, i was blown away so i called my dad over n had him to the test n he has similar results that he was impressed with

i didnt buy one there cuz i wanted to research it more n knew i could get em somewhere else cheaper

well anyways i cant find much information on them online, most info is put out by manufacturers so im not really interested in that kind of biased info, there are plenty of testimonials tho in which people claim to have noticed the benefits of said bands

basically i just came to SO to see if anyone had any first hand experiences with the bands, if anyone knows anything about them, what yall think etc etc. no matter what you think tho if yall are ever somewhere they are doin these demonstrations go ahead n give it a go, it takes all of 5 minutes n im a huge skeptic of lots of stuff n i was certainly taken back and impressed

anyways any input in this thread is appreciated, i prob coulda made this clearer n said it better but ive lost track of time n have to get to class, yall take care
 
yeh bionic bands were a bit of a fad for jocks in about 9th grade, and after about 3 months everyone started paying people out for wearing them because we knew they did nothing

its the allure of something external being able to raise your skill level when thats just not the case

snake oil
 
yea i would have not thought twice about it had i not personally myself had the demonstration done on me

anyone else had the demonstration done on them with any input?
 
Did you and your dad buy the bands?

Can you give any thoughts as to why a piece of silicone or nylon and velcro might have such effects?
 
the vendors of these things are very clever at lulling you into a false sense of security - to get you to part with your money they have to 'prove' that this thing works. If they weren't masters at the deception involved then they wouldn't make any money.

Its the same as the 'find the ace' with the card sharks - slight of hand, manipulation of the subject etc

I don't doubt that the demonstration felt legit to you (that't the trick) the same way when you watch a card shark doing the Find the Ace etc you think - I could do that.

The 'trick' behind these bands - before the band is fitted they slightly adjust the pressure of the downward push outwards towards your hand (pulling you to one side). Once band is fitted they push straight down. You can see this slight change in most of the video demonstrations :).
 
no niether of us bought the bands

i mean was i impressed n did i get duped by the demonstration?, sure. but im no fool i told her straight up i wasnt gonna buy i was gonna go home n do some research on em, i was particularly interested cuz my grandpa is in town n he has equilibrium problems n therefor has balance issues that are getting worse n i was really hoping these were somewhat legit cuz the Dr.s said there really isnt anything they can do for him. also i didnt buy em cuz im cheap as shit, i look at every price i see as how many hours i gotta work to get it (cept drugs) n 55-150$ is just too much work for something like that were i definately felt it was a scam yet at the same time felt it could be legit

the craziest part is im a natural skeptic, but also i was with the family and had just snuck off to smoke a little weed n i literally had just got back with em n i was freshly stoned n thats why i had my dad do it cuz i wanted to make sure it wasnt impressive just cuz i was stoned but he was befuttled too

but yea i wish i woulda known/thought to look out for her doin something different when pushing, i mean i def am a natural skeptic but i wasnt sure how the demonstration would even work n wasnt sure what to look for an honestly i was also just tryin to not seem noticably stoned cuz the family thinks im clean from everything

but right on, i appreciate yalls input

ive seen em for 30$ online n i might go n get one for grandpa cuz even if it is psycosomatic if it helps him it helps him, i wouldnt get one for myself cuz i dont need it but thats the thing about placebo, i think most people think that if they are fooled by placebo then they are stupid or something but imo the placebo effect is just a great demonstration of how powerful the mind is, i dunno bout all yall in SO but has anyone here been a heroin addict? you know when you are in the beginning stages of dopesickness/are fully dopesick, then you get the call to meet up or start making the drive to cop? all of a sudden you arent sick or arent nearly as sick as you were, you havent gotten any dope into your system yet but you mind knows its comin n corrects some of the maladies, thats placebo effect but thats just the power of the mind imo

anyways thanks yall for the input


EDIT: oh yea, also i did 2 tests the balance one got me, i think partially cuz i was stoned but she did the other one where you just stick your fist straight out n this added to my skeptism cuz im a short dude but i fairly stout n even holding my cell ohone to my chest she had a hard time pushing my fist down cuz i gave it my all (honestly should have stretched my right arm cuz she tried her damndest n so did i) n she was unable to push it down, she commented "man you strong" but honestly i didnt think about it as the band not workin i was thinkin oh this lady is really layin it on thick tryin to butter me up

but yea anyways thats my experience with that, thanks yall
 
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