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Anecdote
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<h2 id="etymology-and-usage">Etymology and usage</h2> <p>The word <i>anecdote</i> (in <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Greek</a>: ἀνέκδοτον "unpublished", literally "not given out") comes from <a href="/facts/Procopius_of_Caesarea/6VCmWLTL">Procopius of Caesarea</a>, the biographer of Emperor <a href="/facts/Justinian_I/6wl5Ivh7">Justinian I</a> (r. 527–565). Procopius produced c. 550 CE a work entitled Ἀνέκδοτα (<i>Anekdota</i>, variously translated as <i>Unpublished Memoirs</i> or as <i>Secret History</i>), which consists primarily of a collection of short incidents from the private life of the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF"> Byzantine</a> court. Gradually, the term "anecdote" came to be applied<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> to any short tale used to emphasize or illustrate whatever point an author wished to make. In the context of Greek, <a href="/facts/Estonian_language/ywCJos4e"> Estonian</a>, <a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R"> Lithuanian</a>, <a href="/facts/Bulgarian_language/susG15pr"> Bulgarian</a> and <a href="/facts/Russian_humor/NfIdITbW">Russian humor</a>, an anecdote refers to any short humorous story without the need of factual or biographical origins. </p> <h2 id="as-evidence">As evidence</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Anecdotal_evidence/r8mQyKXW">Anecdotal evidence</a></p> <p>Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of <a href="/facts/Evidence/d5IGUK0U">evidence</a> in the form of an anecdote. The term is often used in contrast to <a href="/facts/Scientific_evidence/ChQVqPcP">scientific evidence</a>, as evidence that cannot be investigated using the <a href="/facts/Scientific_method/182j8RWE">scientific method</a>. The problem with arguing based on anecdotal evidence is that anecdotal evidence is not necessarily typical; only statistical evidence can determine how typical something is. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is an <a href="/facts/Informal_fallacy/MfICjFRF">informal fallacy</a>. </p><p>When used in <a href="/facts/Advertising/Hgz271hW">advertising</a> or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal evidence is often called a <a href="/facts/Testimonial/Fz9udWsr">testimonial</a>. The term is also sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony. <a href="/facts/Psychologist/J4l4QdX2">Psychologists</a> have found that people are more likely to remember notable examples than the typical example.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li>"anecdote" at Wiktionary</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Anecdote">"Anecdote" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/CEyVsjlN">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 2 (9th ed.). 1878. p. 24.</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Anecdote">"Anecdote" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 2.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Cuddon, J. A. (1992). Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory Third Ed. London: Penguin Books. p. 42. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Oxford Dictionary's definition of an anecdote <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Epstein 1989, pp. xix - Epstein, Lawrence (1989). A Treasury of Jewish Anecdotes. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. pp. xix. ISBN 9780876688908. <a href="https://archive.org/details/treasuryofjewish00epst" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/treasuryofjewish00epst</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Epstein, Lawrence (1989). A Treasury of Jewish Anecdotes. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. pp. xix. ISBN 9780876688908. <a href="9780876688908" target="_blank">9780876688908</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Kennedy, X. J. (2005). Handbook of Literary Terms, Third Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. p. 8. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Cuddon 1992, p. 42 - Cuddon, J. A. (1992). Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory Third Ed. London: Penguin Books. p. 42. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Hein, Jürgen (1981). "Die Anekdote". Formen der Literatur in Einzeldarstellungen. By Knörrich, Otto. Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner. p. 15. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Hein 1981, p. 15 - Hein, Jürgen (1981). "Die Anekdote". Formen der Literatur in Einzeldarstellungen. By Knörrich, Otto. Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner. p. 15. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Its first appearance in English is of 1676 (OED). <a href="/wiki/OED" target="_blank">/wiki/OED</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Graesser, A.C.; Hauft-Smith, K.; Cohen, A.D.; Pyles, L.D. (1980). "Structural Components of Reading Time". Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. 19 (2): 135–51. doi:10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90132-2. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>