The Oil Drum

38 comments on A reference that has been asked for

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Cherenkov on August 2, 2006 - 2:49pm

Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of evidence in the form of an anecdote, or hearsay. The term is usually used in contrast to scientific evidence, especially evidence-based medicine, which are types of formal accounts. Anecdotal evidence is often unscientific because it cannot be investigated using the scientific method. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is a logical fallacy and is sometimes informally referred to as the "person who" fallacy ("I know a person who..."; "I know of a case where..." etc.) The problem with arguing based on anecdotal evidence is that anecdotal evidence is not necessarily typical; only statistical evidence can determine how typical something is.

This type of logical fallacy is generally explored in one's freshman English class or in a lower level science class. Reputable scientists avoid anecdotal evidence like the plague for fear of being seen as "dumb." And rightfully so.

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wkwillis on August 2, 2006 - 3:02pm

The guy grew up on a farm that raised corn. He mentioned this as a reason to give him credibility on his report that high temperatures combined with reasonable amounts of rain is not bad for corn.
Since corn was bred to grow in Central America and Mexico, this is a reasonable statement. It's rainy and hot down there. Corn doesn't grow ears below a certain temperature range because it won't pollinate and make the ears if it's too cold. Places like most of England.
Of course, if global warming kicks in we may see corn move out of the extreme south of England.

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ABAPer on August 2, 2006 - 3:41pm

My wifes parents are already growing corn in Wales in there garden. This year is proving both very hot for Wales and also typicaly wet...

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phineas gage on August 2, 2006 - 7:54pm

What's wrong with anecdtoes if they are clearly presented as such? The contributor identified the comment as from personal experience. I found the comment interesting. It was not presented as scientific fact.

Besides, if we are going to point out things we should have learned in freshman English, let's consider the case of circular definitions. In this example the error is commited double as both "evidence" and "anecdote" are used to define the phrase "anecdotal evidence":

"Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of evidence in the form of an anecdote, or hearsay"