The Value of Anecdotal Evidence

[ThomWV]

Poll question: The Value of Anecdotal Evidence

Television, radio, and often printed news often rely on the stories of individuals to convey a point. Ronald Reagan used the story of the common man in the audience to press his agenda forward; Wolf Blitzer can always find just the right person to drive his headliner home in a 15-second on-air sound bite. How do you feel about that personal touch, that story that agrees with the point being made?

[HereSince1628]

1. Anecdotes and statistics...in politics and news commentary both get made up as needed

Let me tell you about a guy I know...

[CTyankee]

2. I can't vote for either choice.

Altho I listen to what people around me are saying, i know that that is FAR too limited to be applicable generally. Polls can be useful if they are scientifically designed and executed. Otherwise they are pretty useless, too.

A well designed poll is pretty much always on target, tho. However, the caveat is that a poll is a "snapshot in time" as the saying goes. I still haven't figured out the disparity of the exit polls with the results in several districts in Ohio in the 04 election, tho...you would think that "snapshot" would be about as accurate as you can get, yet look what happened...

[raccoon]

3. I didn't vote. I think most people believe their own experience more than they believe statistics,

no matter how educated they are.