3 ms·

Well, the problem with anecdotal evidence is that it is unreliable and often subject to bias. It is just not very useful to a reader because they are missing bo

by fruffy 7y ago

Well, the problem with anecdotal evidence is that it is unreliable and often subject to bias. It is just not very useful to a reader because they are missing both the context of the experience and the political predisposition of the writer. If you already have a certain mindset you are going to dismiss evidence to the contrary, too. You may just be confirming your opinion by only acknowledging positive samples. For example, you may not even know about the subset about psychedelic users who are perfectly normal and "un-hippy" because they do not tell you about their drug use. Likely, if you observe habitual and open drug-use you may also encounter a specific personality type. >when neither the people writing the articles, nor those reading them probably know very many people with any experience. I also would dispute that, drug use in the US is not that uncommon, especially under millenials and university graduates. So it is quite likely that both readers and authors are familiar with psychedelics.

codingslave 7y ago
I would rephrase your statement "the problem with anecdotal evidence..." to "a common problem with anecdotal evidence...". As I see it, and increasingly see it, people are told that their anecdotal experience carries little value. I think that in reality an intelligent individual can extract huge swaths of truth from anecdotal evidence. The backlash against that kind of thinking is really a form of thought suppression and brainwashing. We are told that speaking in generalities, stereotypes, etc is dangerous and flawed. This type of thinking falls under, in some ways, a political effort to people stop from coming to their own conclusions about why people act the way they do. Its along the same line of forcing politically correct speech. The caveat here is that real hard science needs real hard data, not anecdotal evidence.
- amykyta 7y ago
  But you can come to your own conclusions about virtually anything including conspiracy theories if you are relying on subjective observations and your own interpretations. You should be free to do so but it should come with a strong disclaimer so others don’t take it as truth. That’s the value of cited research. It lets you assume some credibility and objectivity in the claim.

by fruffy 7y ago

codingslave 7y ago

I would rephrase your statement "the problem with anecdotal evidence..." to "a common problem with anecdotal evidence...". As I see it, and increasingly see it, people are told that their anecdotal experience carries little value. I think that in reality an intelligent individual can extract huge swaths of truth from anecdotal evidence. The backlash against that kind of thinking is really a form of thought suppression and brainwashing. We are told that speaking in generalities, stereotypes, etc is dangerous and flawed. This type of thinking falls under, in some ways, a political effort to people stop from coming to their own conclusions about why people act the way they do. Its along the same line of forcing politically correct speech. The caveat here is that real hard science needs real hard data, not anecdotal evidence.

amykyta 7y ago
But you can come to your own conclusions about virtually anything including conspiracy theories if you are relying on subjective observations and your own interpretations. You should be free to do so but it should come with a strong disclaimer so others don’t take it as truth. That’s the value of cited research. It lets you assume some credibility and objectivity in the claim.