> Rceeberger quoted:
> http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i21/21b02001.htm
<snippage>
> 4. Evidence for a discovery is anecdotal. If modern science
> has learned
> anything in the past century, it is to distrust anecdotal
> evidence. Because
> anecdotes have a very strong emotional impact, they serve
> to keep
> superstitious beliefs alive in an age of science. The most
> important
> discovery of modern medicine is not vaccines or
> antibiotics, it is the
> randomized double-blind test, by means of which we know
> what works and what
> doesn't. Contrary to the saying, "data" is
> not the plural of "anecdote."
But anecdotal observations by qualified people can be worth investigating
further; I am reminded of how several of my colleagues and I, back around 1990,
had observed that physical exercise improved patients' (and our own!)
depression or anxiety. Recently there has been at least one good study that
confirms this.
Debbi
Goodall And Fossy Maru
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