Krutika Mahendru

“meaning effect,” a term she much preferred to “placebo effect.” Because to say that these effects arose from placebo implied that they arose from nothing—for that’s what placebo traditionally was, an inert substance, literally and intentionally useless—when in fact the placebo effect was elicited by the strong sense of significance and substance surrounding the placebo itself: the context, story, ritual, metaphor, and beliefs associated with the placebo. The placebo effect was, in fact, the brain’s response to finding meaning.”
― Nathan Hill, Wellness

“Lawrence does not consider the basic flaw in his search logic: namely, that websites about whether fluoride is poisonous are almost always made by people who believe that, yes, it definitely is. Meanwhile, people who are not worried about fluoride and don’t spend too much time thinking about fluoride typically do not make elaborate websites saying so.”
― Nathan Hill, Wellness

“Where’s the best place to hide a dead body? On the second page of search results.”
― Nathan Hill, Wellness

“Jack is not exactly proud of this feeling, and he understands he’s not being the compassionate, empathetic, forgiving person that, for example, he’s trying to teach his own son to be—but it just feels so good, revenge. It’s the only kind of cruelty that can make you feel like a bigger and better person for inflicting it. It’s like Jack is teaching his father an important kind of lesson, the lesson being, basically: Now you know how it feels.”
― Nathan Hill, Wellness