[lukev]

It's true, anecdotes are not data and have no statistical weight whatsoever.

However, anecdotes can and do (and should) play a large role in influencing how we think. They can humanize a problem and create food for thought in a way that no amount of statistics ever could.

For example, it's one thing to cite statistics that children of gay parents do just as well as those of straight parents (I have no idea if it's true, but it's an interesting contemporary question). But that's not likely to change the mind of a homophobe on the issue of gay adoption. On the flip side, a lucid, heartfelt anecdote from a person who had gay parents might actually help someone to understand what it's like to grow up in that environment an therefore become sympathetic.

Of course, it has no bearing on the actual statistics at all, but sometimes statistics aren't the most important thing.

[tylerhobbs]

That is an excellent point, and well expressed. I do see how anecdotes and stories can be used in a very positive way to shift opinion; there are definitely some grey regions. (How do you know you're on the right sight?)