Pain – it’s all in the mind. Well, not entirely, but the value of distraction as a way of cancelling out the pain of some medical treatments is well documented. So much so that Spanish scientists have announced that, for some patients, playing a virtual reality computer game while being operated on can actually reduce the dosage of sedatives required. I’m pretty sure I’ve played a few games that might be a good replacement for sedatives in my time…Ridge Racer, anyone?