1. Sometimes we give each other advice by telling a short story that happened to us.
These short stories are called anecdotes.
After Quack couldn’t ride Thriller (a roller coaster) because he was too small…
I have been waiting to rider Thriller for forever!
I have barely grown at all this year.
I wish I could just get bigger…
Quack, the secret to growing bigger is to eat lots and
lots of raw cactus.
It doesn’t taste very good and sometimes it pokes
you, but it works! I grew a whole inch in one week
because of eating cactus.
2. Eating cactus. Peep says it is the secret to growing.
If I keep this up I’ll be big enough to ride thriller in no
time!
Quack!!
What are you doing?!
Our brain likes anecdotes and treats them as important.
3. Peep says it helped him grow, so I’m sure it will work.
I can feel myself growing already! I wish it didn’t have
all these needles though.
Are you sure? That sounds kind of crazy…
Did you ask your doctor? They probably know
more about your body then Quack.
Or maybe look at a few different websites to
see what more people think?
Often, we will follow the advice of anecdotes without questioning whether they are correct.
4. A year later and Quack still isn’t big enough for Thriller…
Sigh…
Another year and still not big enough...
Even after eating all that cactus
That’s weird, I know it works.
Maybe you weren’t eating the right kind of cactus.
This year, try eating the really tall cactus.
Unfortunately, anecdotes are often wrong. What works for someone else might not work for
us. Sometimes the stories just aren’t true.
This means anecdotes are weak evidence.
5. When deciding something important, we shouldn’t rely on anecdotes.
PUNKY LOOK!!!
BEES!!!
OOOOOHHHH!!!
What is that? I have never seen a bee before.
Can I get a closer look?
6. Yeah, it’s safe.
My dad used to get close to
bees all the time.
Okay, cool.
Come on out little bee friends!
Using anecdotes to make decisions could cause us to make the wrong decision.
7. Instead of following the advice of anecdotes, we should use the advice of experts.
Experts are more reliable, especially large groups of experts.
RUNNNN!!!
OWW!! OWW!!
OWW!!
8. Let’s see how things could have gone different…
No. I talked to my doctor and looked online. Experts agree there isn’t
much you can do to grow faster.
I’ll just have to wait.
The important thing is I eat a healthy diet to make sure my body has
everything it needs to grow.
So have you been eating cactus?
Looks like you have already
gotten a little bigger.
9. PUNKY LOOK!!!
BEES!!!
OOOOOHHHH!!!
I have never seen a bee before. I’ll go ask my
parents if it is safe to get closer.
Let’s see how things could have gone different…
10. Our brain usually thinks we will do better than other people.
We believe that dangerous things that hurt other people won’t hurt us.
Woah, this hill is huge! Are you sure
you want to go down it? I heard lots
of people have gotten hurt here…
Don’t worry so much! No way that would ever happen to me.
This is going to be great! Here I go…
11. Everyone can get hurt. If it happened to a lot of other people, it could happen to you.
I HIT THAT TREE AND HIT MY LEG!!
GET MY PARENTS!!!
OH NO!!!
ARE YOU OKAY?
12. We believe that we are faster, smarter, or strong than most other people.
The day before Quack’s first big race…
Psh… I don’t need to practice.
Have you seen how fast I am? No way the other kids
will keep up with me.
Peep, I’m surprised to see you here!
I thought you would be practicing for your big race.
13. Without practice, we are usually just as fast, smart, and strong as everyone else.
After the race…
Most of the other kids practiced, so I almost got last…
Looks like I need to practice…
So how did your big race go?
14. Remember, your brain will trick you into believing anecdotes and believing you will do better
than other people.
Don’t trick yourself into believing something that isn’t true!
15. Credits
Notes
• Anecdote - Story about friend who says eating a certain thing a lot
will make you grow, so he eats a lot of it
• Anecdote – Petting an animal because a friend said it was safe
because he has pet it before
• Effort heuristic – happily spending $10 found on ice cream, but not
$10 worked for
• Optimism bias – Sledding down a dangerous hill and thinking you
won’t get hurt
• Optimism bias -
16. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
