On Jul 2, 2007, at 10:08 PM, Craig Jungers wrote: > Anecdotal evidence is generally held to be that given by untrained > observers > or hearsay ("I heard bob said he went faster with a rudder"). > Caffyn's data > (not his "report" - whatever that is) is a written record of miles > travelled > over a long period of time set down by an expert in the field. So when > Caffyn states that he thought the rudder made him go faster that > may be > anecdotal. But when he says that the statistics indicate that he > went faster > with a rudder it's not anecdotal. But, of course, one can do a lot > with > statistics. I guess I don't see any statistics here. There is a sample of one. Caffyn found a difference with previous experience only once. It happened to occur over a long stretch of coast immediately after a previous long stretch of coast, but it is still only one single event. Statistics require several samples. This is not statistical data, but a report of an observation and one man's perception of what was going on. He has not done anything to raise it above the level of anecdote. The fact that Caffyn is an "expert" makes it an anecdote worth paying attention to, but his conclusions are still capable being mistaken. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jul 05 2007 - 05:58:02 PDT
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