Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training.


There is a cliche that probably has some anecdotal evidence on the side that comedians are very depressed people, but that's because no one is ever going to seem as funny in a normal conversation as compared to when they're up there onstage in the spotlight making a huge audience keel over with laughter.

People who watch 'Fox News,' you may say, and this is anecdotal, but they are passionate about it. In the most unlikely places, like down in Soho where I used to live, people would come up to me and thank me for it. People I didn't know from a bar of soap. People appreciate that at least they're being heard. It is much more watchable.

I'm sick of watching 'Blue Lives Matter' supporters idly stand by any police officer simply because he wears blue, ignoring the facts that should make them cringe in disbelief and horror. Police brutality is systemic, not anecdotal.

My prediction for the 2016 race was based on a variety of observational and anecdotal evidence. I listened to Democrats, Republicans and independents across the U.S. I talked to people who consider themselves apolitical.

Marianne: I hope for your sake, God has a sense of humor.
Olive Penderghast: Oh, I have seventeen years worth of anecdotal proof that He does.

Alexander Hartdegen: Can you tell me what's happening here?
Vox: Well, my sources are no longer fully annotated and my information is somewhat anecdotal but, I believe what was once one race, is now two. One above. And one below. Two distinct species that have evolved.
Alexander Hartdegen: And how do those below survive?
Vox: That is the real question, isn't it?
Alexander Hartdegen: I don't believe it.
Vox: Well, if you don't like the answers, you should avoid asking the questions. Look at them. They have no knowledge of the past. No ambition for the future. So lucky.
Alexander Hartdegen: Why would you say something like that?
Vox: Can you even imagine what it's like to remember everything? I remember the six year old girl who asked me about dinosaurs eight hundred thousand years ago. I remember the last book I recommended. "Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Wolfe. And yes, I even remember you. Time Travel... practical application.