Name: Why Anecdotes Trump Data
Uploaded: 2020-03-28T18:36:55.000Z
Duration: 8 min 46 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Some critics of the TV show Mythbusters claim

that the show misrepresents the scientific process.

Basic passive voice

For example, experiments are sometimes conducted only once

and using statistical analysis as a scientist would

that is meant to educate people about science

may instead be giving them the opposite impression

But you know, similar criticisms had been made of Veritasium.

our experiments to show that the water swirls

the opposite way in the northern and southern hemispheres,

even though we each did it three or four times in our own hemisphere.

And I guess that brings forth the question

really show the repetitive nature of science

and use statistical results as evidence for our claims.

Well my answer is no, but to understand why

we first have to dig into something called

individual participants were placed in isolated booths

where they could speak to five other participants through an intercom

And these participants were meant to speak in turns

for two minutes each about their lives --

Now what the participants didn't know was that

He talked about the problems he was having adjusting to life in New York City

and particularly the difficulty that he gets the seizures, particularly when stressed.

And so everyone else had their turn and then it came back 'round

when he was speaking he became more and more incoherent as he

was talking. He said that he could feel a seizure coming on and he made choking noises,

he asked for help from the other participants --

and, uh, then he continued to get more and more distressed

And the point of the experiment was to see how many of the participants would help.

I mean, if you were one of the other participants, do you think you would've left your booth

In total, about 13 participants took part in this experiment --

and the number that helped before his mic was turned off --

Now, while this might sound a little bit disappointing

you gotta keep in mind that there were other people listening to the same distress call

and that may have diffused the responsibility that individuals would feel;

this is something known as the "bystander effect."

Now, what's interesting about this experiment from my point of view

is not how it confirms the bystander effect,

For example, they fail to change their opinion

of themselves or others after learning about this experiment.

For example, have you changed your opinion

about how likely you would be to help in this situation --

now that you know that only 30 percent of people did, in that situation?

Well, there was a follow-up study conducted

of individual participants who were purported to be from the original study.

And they had already learned about the study,

and then they were asked at the end of watching those two videos --

which were pretty uninformative, just showed that these people were

that those two particular participants helped?"

that those two participants would have helped --

even though they knew that, statistically, only 30 percent did, so,

in fact, if would've been a better guess to say that they probably didn't.

those general results as pertaining to the particular,

Now, is there a way to get people to really

And then they showed those two participant videos --

again, not mentioning anything about the experiment,

just showing that these are two, decent, ordinary people

and then they told the students that those two people

And they asked the students to, uh, guess

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Why Anecdotes Trump Data

assume

individual

decent

situation