Anecdotal evidence has been shown to have a greater influence on opinion than it logically deserves, most visibly when the anecdote conflicts with the reader’s opinion and when the reader is not highly analytical, even if the anecdotes are accompanying statistical evidence. Though the anecdotes may not totally sway you, they can easily leave you with the sense that the research findings aren’t as conclusive as they claim to be.
I was incorrectly presuming a somewhat more complex standard than pure incoherent preference. And so I have benefited from seeing the reason made explicit. Thank you.
http://thobbs.github.com/blog/2012/06/17/you-should-downvote-anecdotes/