Comment by ajkjk
1 year ago
appeals to authority have some merit, you know.
I for one appreciated the clarification that it was not mainstream, since sneaking a random controversial take into a comment thread as if it was fact without noting that it's contentious is disingenuous.
> appeals to authority have some merit, you know.
No, they don't. If you don't know enough to argue on the merits, don't argue. A count of opinions is not an argument.
> sneaking a random controversial take into a comment thread as if it was fact without noting that it's contentious is disingenuous.
And again, you're justifying your judgment and dismissal based on hearsay. Saying "I refuse to believe it because experts disagree" is fine if you're unable or unwilling to look into an issue yourself, but in that case you have to realize you're basically ignorant.
I realize that we all go through life taking most things on faith, but that also means that you should not cling to the opinions of others as a substitute for thought.
yes they do. for one thing you do not make the rules around here; no one cares what you think counts as suitable grounds for arguing. For another, yes, authority has some merit. Doesn't make it fact, but certainly the prior we ought to assign for "medical authorities are correct" is quite high. Not certainty, but pretty confident, all else being equal.
edit: I see you added "I realize that we all go through life taking most things on faith, but that also means that you should not cling to the opinions of others as a substitute for thought."
Don't worry, nobody's doing that here. It's a question of weighting, not clinging. Maybe you mistook "this is not mainstream" to mean "this is definitely false because it's not mainstream"? It does not mean that. It is just helpful context for evaluating credibility.
> for one thing you do not make the rules around here; no one cares what you think counts as suitable grounds for arguing.
You're asserting that a extremely well-known logical fallacy is not a fallacy. It's not an HN rule, it's argumentation 101.
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