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> There's a reason why in scientific discussion anecdotal evidence is dismissed. Because it doesn't feed the research machine! One anecdote is dismissed. Ten

> There's a reason why in scientific discussion anecdotal evidence is dismissed. Because it doesn't feed the research machine! One anecdote is dismissed. Ten anecdotes are collected to start grifting for grants. And one hundred anecdotes gives you Empiricism (TM)! I've come to value anecdotes as a marker of "something is there." To throw them away completely is foolish. Have you read most research papers being pumped out? The methodologies are always flawed (dare I say, biased; ha!) towards favorable results (or atleast I hope. Some of the methodologies I've seen for biological research are so stupid, I refuse to believe someone came up with them in good faith).

jokethrowaway 5y ago
There is definitely a replication crisis in academia, we should just have stricter requirements for what we consider science (especially in some fields which are terribly complicated and where you can find studies to prove something and its opposite) One anecdote should point us in a direction but it's not enough to prove anything.
justsomehnguy 5y ago
> I've come to value anecdotes as a marker of "something is there." AKA "there is a grain of joke in every joke". Not everything is bigger in Texas but this is a clear marker on some aspects of Texans self-perception. Which was exported so successfully it's now known not only in all other states but in other states too.