Watchdog, you are spot on.
The sad part is - the company must know it's a scam - but the people out promoting it are victims of the placebo effect - and when they test it on others they introduce that bias into the results.
An australian network show had one of the people from the company try to duplicate the results using a blind test - he could not determine who had the real 'hologram' and who just had a credit card in their pocket.
Does this mean the whole Power Balance bracelet is a scam? Depends how you look at it. If you believe in the results, you get the results. That's the placebo effect.
But if I'm selling you something i know doesn't really work - hoping you have the placebo effect - does that make it the Power Balance Scam?
Here's a link to the video where they completely debunk the holographic strength and balance test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd0Gb9EgkHA
[quote user="WatchDog"]
Someone pitched me on the EFX Power Balance wristband the other night.
I was totally unprepared for two things - how convinced these people were that there is such a thing as holograms that emit a 'frequency' attuned to the body, and the carnival style gimmicks used to convince lemmings that the technology works.
There are many resources you can find on the internet debunking the effects of Applied Kinesiology. Basically, applied kinesiology is this total fraud science whereby people believe that their body responds to either items worn, items ingested, or items held. That somehow, the muscles react and are either weaker or strong depending on contact with these objects and the bodies 'electrical field."
These same people would sneer and laugh if they saw say a evangelist lay his hands on someones head and then suddenly they had greater strength or flexibility, but the principle is exactly the same. Except with items like teh EFX USA scam and Power Balance wristband scam the person doing the test actually believes and thus helps bring about the placebo effect result that one normally sees when they do these kind of parlor tricks.
Lifewave got hammered on sites like WorldWideScam for promoting these Hologram Stickers that supposedly provided all kinds of benefits ( even used for improved gas mileage ) but now these other companies like EFX are selling their Power Balance bracelets to people who in ages gone by would've lined up for snake oil.
This friend tried to demonstrate the power of the Power Balance wristband on me. He asked me to pput my hands together and rotate as far as I could to the right. Then marked how far my hands would reach. Then he said, okay, now I'm going to put the wristband on you - I said, wait, let me do it one more time. This time, I stretched as far as I possibly could - an extra few inches - till it actually hurt. Then I said lets do it. He put the bracelet on me. I was able to turn just as far, no further.
He did the same test to three other people. Each time, I encouraged the people to go as far as they possibly could - not just as far as was comfortable. Each time when they put on the bracelet, no further result.
Then he did a test where he had me stand on one foot and tried to push down my arm. Again, he wanted to push down on my arm after I held the bracelet. I told him, no, just push down again without the bracelet. The second time, I held my arm and balance much longer. And the third time, even longer. I said, "Is that the result you were expecting with the EFX Power Balance Wristband? He said yes. I said, the bracelet doesn't do anything. You simply adjust and balance better then next times.
It led me to also do research on the placebo effect for these items. What's sad is that the same crap we hear when people are pitching certain MLM products ( PRO ATHLETES ARE USING IT!!!) is being used to promote this totally worthless piece of plastic and a hologram sticker ( like you would find on your credit card ) for 60.00. "Pro Hockey Players are using it". Really? Which ones. Apparently a couple of pro surfers gave testimonials. Honestly, the only pro surfers I ever knew where such gullible stoners I could've sold them green beans as magic beans and they'd have tried to grow a magic beanstalk. No offense to any intelligent pro surfers.
Here's a link to a scambusting video, but instead of the EFX hologram scam its a 'crystal' that is supposed to have the same effect - and the guy just destroys the phony crystal healer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_MzP2MZaOo
I then challenged the friend to do the same test, but without me encouraging the person to stretch as far as possible the first time, with a simple rubber wristband - essentially a "Live Strong" bracelet.
The person turned six inches further the second time. The funny part, the rubber band wasn't even a Live Strong - it was a silicone band made for marking beer cans and wine glasses at parties ( all different colors ).
But no matter how many times I pointed out the silliness of the claims, or the fact that it couldn't pass a double blind test, or the placebo effect, or the expectations on the tester of the net result, could not get a response indicating it might be a fraud.
Emperor's New Clothes effect in play. Even when scammed, no one wants to admit it - they won't admit something like the EFX wristband scam sucked them in, because then they would seem like idiots.
Reminds me of the Uri Geller key bending and Pyramid Power craziness of the 70s.
Anyone actually using this EFX USA Power Balance bracelet that is willing to do a blind test?
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