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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 7942318" data-attributes="member: 177">No.&nbsp; But we are living in the Dunning-Kruger Chainsaw Massacre.There is a common misconception of the logical fallacy of the appeal to authority.&nbsp; You are correct if you say that the fact that an authority said it, doesn't make it true, in and of itself.&nbsp; It is an argument on trusting a personality, rather than an effort.The appeal to authority says that a person who is an expert cannot rest on their laurels - they have to actually do the work, show the logic. &quot;Because I am an expert and I say so,&quot; does not cut it.&nbsp; &quot;Trust me, I'm a doctor,&quot; has no standing.&nbsp; The fact that an expert in the field has been furiously working with real-world data, however, still means a great deal, and has much standing. Two things that the appeal to authority doesn't say:&nbsp; 1) An expert is likely to be wrong, and 2) A non-expert is likely to be correct, or has the understanding to properly critique an expert.If you are not an expert, your say so doesn't mean anything either.&nbsp; Your &quot;feeling&quot; that they are missing things is worthless.&nbsp; Can you show your logic and do the work?&nbsp; If so, you should do so.&nbsp; If not, your input on whether they're correct is of no value.That's a little blunt, and I'm sorry for that.&nbsp; But it is true.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 7942318, member: 177"] No. But we are living in the Dunning-Kruger Chainsaw Massacre. There is a common misconception of the logical fallacy of the appeal to authority. You are correct if you say that the fact that an authority said it, doesn't make it true, in and of itself. It is an argument on trusting a personality, rather than an effort. The appeal to authority says that a person who is an expert cannot rest on their laurels - they have to actually do the work, show the logic. "Because I am an expert and I say so," does not cut it. "Trust me, I'm a doctor," has no standing. The fact that an expert in the field has been furiously working with real-world data, however, still means a great deal, and has much standing. Two things that the appeal to authority [I]doesn't[/I] say: 1) An expert is likely to be wrong, and 2) A non-expert is likely to be correct, or has the understanding to properly critique an expert. If you are not an expert, your say so doesn't mean anything either. Your "feeling" that they are missing things is worthless. Can you show your logic and do the work? If so, you should do so. If not, your input on whether they're correct is of no value. That's a little blunt, and I'm sorry for that. But it is true. [/QUOTE]

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