Hearsay and Anecdotal Evidence

Hearsay, by definition, is evidence that is heard by one person and then repeated to another. It is most commonly known as gossip or rumors. Hearsay is notoriously unreliable, where words are twisted and comments are taken out of context. This kind of evidence is all too common for me and many people my age. Over a short 24 hours, my friends were giving my roommate and me cold shoulders. We soon realized we were the subject being talked about by another friend. My friend and my roommate and I were having a small tiff, which soon became known to the people around us. Those friends giving the cold shoulder were being given biased information and forming opinions only knowing one side of the story. Thankfully, we were able to sort everything out.

Anecdotal, similar to hearsay, is evidence based on personal testimonies. This is also unreliable because of inaccurate memory and the tendency exaggeration. Anecdotal is popular when telling a story to another friend is an attempt to brag about your experience. Both of these types of evidence should be avoided at all costs, even in everyday conversation. People can be misled and those on the other end, like me, can be hurt.