Title: The Role of Anecdotes in Science-Based Medicine | Science-Based Medicine
Headings: The Role of Anecdotes in Science-Based Medicine
The Role of Anecdotes in Science-Based Medicine
Posted by        Steven Novella
Steven Novella • 13 years ago
rjstan@together.net • 13 years ago
Steven Novella • 13 years ago
Steven Novella • 13 years ago
rjstan@together.net • 13 years ago

Content: She and many other practitioners of dubious modalities are compelled by anecdotal experience while I am not. An anecdote is a story – in the context of medicine it often relates to an individual’s experience with their disease or symptoms and their efforts to treat it. People generally find anecdotes highly compelling, while scientists are deeply suspicious of anecdotes. We are fond of saying that the plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not data. Why is this? Humans are social storytelling animals – we instinctively learn by the experience of others. My friend ate that plant with the bright red berries and then became very ill – lesson: don’t eat from that plant. This is a type of heuristic, a mental shortcut that humans evolved in order to make quick and mostly accurate judgments about their environment. From an evolutionary point of view it is probably statistically advantageous just to avoid the plant with the red berries rather than conduct blinded experiments to see if it really was the plant that made your friend sick.