--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The plural of anecdote is not data." description: "\"The plural of anecdote is not data.\" — Marc Bekoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png" --- # The plural of anecdote is not data. ![“The plural of anecdote is not data.” quote by Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png) > “The plural of anecdote is not data.” [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single anecdote does not constitute evidence; many stories are needed for reliable conclusions. **In simple terms:** One story isn’t data. Key Takeaway Gather many examples before concluding. Themes critical thinking evidence statistics Mood skeptical analytical Type educational informative When to use this quote - research - journalism - policy making - personal decisions - media consumption Key Concepts epistemology data literacy Questions to Reflect On - How many stories do you need to trust a claim? - What risks arise from relying on single examples? A Different Perspective Anecdotal evidence can be persuasive but misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anecdote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdote/) [Anecdote Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdote-data-2176891/) [Anecdotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotes/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Plural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plural/) [Plural Anecdote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plural-anecdote-1250828/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-method/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“As economists like to say, the plural of "anecdote" is not "data.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/as-economists-like-to-say-the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [The plural on anecdote is not evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mauboussin/the-plural-on-anecdote-is-not-evidence/) [Michael Mauboussin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mauboussin/) > [The plural of anecdotes is not data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/the-plural-of-anecdotes-is-not-data/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [I am opposed, naturally, to regurgitating anecdote or any other form of received wisdom, unless it is characterized as such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/i-am-opposed-naturally-to-regurgitating-anecdote-or-any-other-form-of/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [Good anecdote--bad reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/good-anecdote-bad-reality/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I watched our friends' wary, intelligent faces droop at our tale. Their shock was a mere shadow of our own, resembling more the goodwilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-watched-our-friends-wary-intelligent-faces-droop-at-our-tale-their/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Anecdote: It is by no means self-evident that human beings are most real when most violently excited; violent physical passions do not in themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/anecdote-it-is-by-no-means-self-evident-that-human-beings-are-most/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I think my first general rule is that most of my experiences are not that interesting. It's usually other people's experiences. It's not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-think-my-first-general-rule-is-that-most-of-my-experiences-are-not/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Anecdote: A house that is rooted to one spot but can travel as quickly as you change your mind and is complete in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/anecdote-a-house-that-is-rooted-to-one-spot-but-can-travel-as-quickly/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Sometimes ... the short short appears to rest on nothing more than a fragile anecdote which the writer has managed to drape with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/sometimes-the-short-short-appears-to-rest-on-nothing-more-than-a/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [An anecdote is related of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (1621-1683), who, in speaking of religion, said, "People differ in their discourse and profession about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-burnet/an-anecdote-is-related-of-sir-anthony-ashley-cooper-1621-1683-who-in/) [Gilbert Burnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-burnet/) > [Somewhere, there, is an analogy, in a small way, if you have the patience for it. But I guess it isn't a very good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/somewhere-there-is-an-analogy-in-a-small-way-if-you-have-the-patience/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Meanwhile with the help of an anecdote I fell in love. Words caravaggio. They have a power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/meanwhile-with-the-help-of-an-anecdote-i-fell-in-love-words/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Art isn't anecdote. It's the consciousness we bring to bear in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/art-isn-t-anecdote-it-s-the-consciousness-we-bring-to-bear-in-our/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## More by Marc Bekoff > [Some people say they love animals and yet harm them nonetheless; I'm glad those people don't love me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/some-people-say-they-love-animals-and-yet-harm-them-nonetheless-i-m/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Although other animals may be different from us, this does not make them LESS than us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/although-other-animals-may-be-different-from-us-this-does-not-make/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Hunting and fishing involve killing animals with devices (such as guns) for which the animals have not evolved natural defenses. No animal on earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/hunting-and-fishing-involve-killing-animals-with-devices-such-as-guns/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [“We generally accept that it's natural for carnivorous wild animals to kill other animals in order to live. But people don't often think (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/we-generally-accept-that-it-s-natural-for-carnivorous-wild-animals-to/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [It's bad biology to rob nonhuman animals of their emotional lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/it-s-bad-biology-to-rob-nonhuman-animals-of-their-emotional-lives/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [A reduction of meat consumption by only 10% would result in about 12 million more tons of grain for human consumption. This additional grain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/a-reduction-of-meat-consumption-by-only-10-would-result-in-about-12/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Many animals experience pain, anxiety and suffering, physically and psychologically, when they are held in captivity or subjected to starvation, social isolation, physical restraint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/many-animals-experience-pain-anxiety-and-suffering-physically-and/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [All animals, including humans, have a right to lives of dignity and respect, without forced intrusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/all-animals-including-humans-have-a-right-to-lives-of-dignity-and/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Make ethical choices in what we buy, do, and watch. In a consumer-driven society our individual choices, used collectively for the good of animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/make-ethical-choices-in-what-we-buy-do-and-watch-in-a-consumer-driven/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [We must remain hopeful that a universal ethic of courage, caring, sharing, respect, radical compassion, and love will make a difference even if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/we-must-remain-hopeful-that-a-universal-ethic-of-courage-caring/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Often, the greater our ignorance about something, the greater our resistance to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/often-the-greater-our-ignorance-about-something-the-greater-our/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [These enthusiasts often like to hang signs that say "Gone Fishin'" or "Gone Huntin'". But what these slogans really mean is "Gone Killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/these-enthusiasts-often-like-to-hang-signs-that-say-gone-fishin-or/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Dominion does not mean domination. We hold dominion over animals only because of our powerful and ubiquitous intellect. Not because we are morally superior.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/dominion-does-not-mean-domination-we-hold-dominion-over-animals-only/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Lacking a shared language, emotions are perhaps our most effective means of cross-species communication. We can share our emotions, we can understand the language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/lacking-a-shared-language-emotions-are-perhaps-our-most-effective/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [When animals express their feelings they pour out like water from a spout. Animals' emotions are raw, unfiltered, and uncontrolled. Their joy is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/when-animals-express-their-feelings-they-pour-out-like-water-from-a/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) [Explore all 24 Marc Bekoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) ## More Anecdote quotes > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Art isn't anecdote. It's the consciousness we bring to bear in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/art-isn-t-anecdote-it-s-the-consciousness-we-bring-to-bear-in-our/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Sometimes I get the start of a story from a memory, an anecdote, but that gets lost and is usually unrecognizable in the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/sometimes-i-get-the-start-of-a-story-from-a-memory-an-anecdote-but/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [ “\[The cats\] scamper in front of my legs, causing me to fall and face plant into whatever furniture is closest. They especially like to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weston-locher/the-cats-scamper-in-front-of-my-legs-causing-me-to-fall-and-face/) [Weston Locher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weston-locher/) > [Meanwhile with the help of an anecdote I fell in love. Words caravaggio. They have a power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/meanwhile-with-the-help-of-an-anecdote-i-fell-in-love-words/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Somewhere, there, is an analogy, in a small way, if you have the patience for it. But I guess it isn't a very good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/somewhere-there-is-an-analogy-in-a-small-way-if-you-have-the-patience/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [An anecdote is related of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (1621-1683), who, in speaking of religion, said, "People differ in their discourse and profession about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-burnet/an-anecdote-is-related-of-sir-anthony-ashley-cooper-1621-1683-who-in/) [Gilbert Burnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-burnet/) > [“The usual short story cannot have a complex plot, but it often has a simple one resembling a chain with two or three links.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/the-usual-short-story-cannot-have-a-complex-plot-but-it-often-has-a/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [“She wondered if she was in the midst of an anecdote that, for reasons of proximity, she was not yet able to perceive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/she-wondered-if-she-was-in-the-midst-of-an-anecdote-that-for-reasons/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [Sometimes ... the short short appears to rest on nothing more than a fragile anecdote which the writer has managed to drape with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/sometimes-the-short-short-appears-to-rest-on-nothing-more-than-a/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [“In the middle section of the book Mirabelle breaks into not one, but two houses near Belgravia Books. I had fun scoping these out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/in-the-middle-section-of-the-book-mirabelle-breaks-into-not-one-but/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“I was fired ignominiously from the Junior School Choir for being so off tune that the choir mistress declared she couldn't even bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-was-fired-ignominiously-from-the-junior-school-choir-for-being-so/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“After all, this was the place where I’d had my first meaningful conversation with a female, it was the site of a football’s first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weston-locher/after-all-this-was-the-place-where-i-d-had-my-first-meaningful/) [Weston Locher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weston-locher/) > [I have one anecdote about the FBI breaking into an embassy in Washington, and under Hoover, they had this sort of ruse whereby they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-kessler/i-have-one-anecdote-about-the-fbi-breaking-into-an-embassy-in/) [Ronald Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-kessler/) > [“The anecdote was funny, but as my father gazed across the river at the university of his youth, his Russian life was in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/the-anecdote-was-funny-but-as-my-father-gazed-across-the-river-at-the/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) [Browse all 54 Anecdote quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdote/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The plural of anecdote is not data.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marc Bekoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anecdote" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-bekoff-24667_anecdote_the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data-10086_1008618.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The plural of anecdote is not data.” — Marc Bekoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marc Bekoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The plural of anecdote is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```