That's still not quite correct, Patrick.  Science by definition is not 
anecdotal:  it is based on testable hypotheses and repeatable results resulting 
in data which can be analyzed and independently confirmed or disproved.  Double 
blind studies are appropriate and necessary in some aspects of science but not 
in others- indeed, in most scientific experiments the double blind model is not 
necessary or sometimes not possible, such as the search for gravitational 
lensing to confirm part of Einstein's theory of general relativity or chemical 
analysis of proteins.  The double blind model, on the other hand, is very 
useful for comparing the efficacy of a medication to placebo by reducing the 
effects of bias and expectation on outcomes.  Gallileo did not need to use the 
double blind model to measure the acceleration of objects in Earth's 
gravitational field.

Once one gets to repeatable observation and measurement, one has left the realm 
of anecdote.  Anecdotes may be very accurate but it is the scientific method 
that ultimately provides the confirmation.  

Cheers!

Tim



On Mar 14, 2013, at 3:45 PM, Deacon Patrick wrote:
> 
> OK. I overstated. Most science done today is anecdotal. It does not meet the 
> standard of double-blind, peer reviewed data. So I treat it as anecdotal.
> 
> With abandon,
> Patrick
> 
> On Thursday, March 14, 2013 2:29:45 PM UTC-6, Steve Palincsar wrote:
> On Thu, 2013-03-14 at 06:36 -0700, Deacon Patrick wrote: 
> > What science isn't based on anecdotal evidence? I did x, observed y, 
> > measured z... 
> 
> Compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence  with 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_evidence 
> 
> I see little support for your assertion. 



-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW 
Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.


Reply via email to