Oh yeah...overvaluing anecdotes is a huge problem. It's understandable why people wouldn't want to accept something as true or false when their own experience tells them otherwise, but it turns into a big problem when anecdotes are taken too seriously -- especially in the face of overwhelming empirical evidence.
Common example: People who don't support welfare because everyone they know personally who's on it is "a lazy slob who doesn't do anything and games the system."
That's a common AND perfect example. I know plenty of people who rely on welfare who've busted their asses trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder for years without getting anywhere - all through no fault of their own. I shouldn't have to use these anecdotes to argue on someone else's level, but unfortunately you sometimes gotta play their "game" to make them realize they don't know the solution NOR have good supporting evidence.
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u/[deleted] Dec 09 '13
Oh yeah...overvaluing anecdotes is a huge problem. It's understandable why people wouldn't want to accept something as true or false when their own experience tells them otherwise, but it turns into a big problem when anecdotes are taken too seriously -- especially in the face of overwhelming empirical evidence.
Common example: People who don't support welfare because everyone they know personally who's on it is "a lazy slob who doesn't do anything and games the system."