"In a medically supervised anecdotal study..."

[burythehatchet]

Wow, that Proton Extreme sure sounds effective. It was tested in a medically supervised anecdotal study. (I don't know what anecdotal is but it sure sounds thorough)

[Drifter]

1. sounds like a bunch of doctors ...

gathered and made fun of it.

Cheers
Drifter

[nutsnberries]

7. that's what I always think when I hear it too!

[mopinko]

2. i crack up every time i hear that one.

are people that dumb that they don't know that is gibberish?
there is a saying- the plural of anecdote is NOT data.

[KitchenWitch]

3. anecdotal studies

are not as good as random controlled double blind studies...anecdotal evidence is akin to beef by-products...they were probably studying something else and found that this product ALSO had the listed effect.

[benburch]

5. You are too kind to them.

They know already that it does nothing. Absolutely nothing. It is a total quack and the study is valueless.

[dflprincess]

4. I think anecdotal basically refers to personal stories

Like: "As soon as I started drinking green tea, I stopped having arthritis pain." or something like that. It really isn't scientific in that there are no double blind studies or anything that can be proven empirically.

[Ian David]

6. Anecdotal: Based on a handful of observations

Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis: “There are anecdotal reports of children poisoned by hot dogs roasted over a fire of the stems” (C. Claiborne Ray).
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Anecdotal

Also:
anecdotal
Report of clinical experiences based in individual cases, rather than an organized investigation with appropriate controls, etc.

For example:

"Fred shot himself in the head, so therefore there is anecdotal evidence that gunshot wounds to the head won't kill you."

"Fred didn't wear a seatbelt, so he was thrown clear of the car accident, saving his life. Therefore, I have anecdotal evidence that wearing a seatbelt is bad for you."

As opposed to:

"In a double-blind clinical study of 10,000 cats over four years of medical school, a peer-reviewed medical journal published Bill Frist's paper that concluded definitively that all cats do indeed have only ONE life."


"Medically Supervised": A doctor was making sure nobody died.

[fiddlestix]

8. Either I'm listening to AAR wayyy too much...

Or they keep playing the same commercials

Or both?

The picture I get in my head is a bunch of old farts sitting at a table with pills & cups of water...and all around are people in lab coats & clipboards, waiting for that "anecdotal" evidence...