[T]his (perhaps wrongly) smacks of appeal to authority. Don't dismiss appeals to authority so easily. As it happens, not giving extra weight to experts in prop

[T]his (perhaps wrongly) smacks of appeal to authority. Don't dismiss appeals to authority so easily. As it happens, not giving extra weight to experts in proportion to their track record is a provably suboptimal strategy in an adversarial setting (see e.g. [1]). So, in this sense, deferring to trained medical opinion might in fact be the most responsible thing to do. Note however the bounds in [1] also (indirectly) imply you are better off with a diverse ensemble of expert advice. So if you can afford it, always get a second (or third) reputable medical opinion. And weigh their advice accordingly. [1] http://www.mit.edu/~9.520/spring08/Classes/online_learning_2008.pdf http://www.mit.edu/~9.520/spring08/Classes/online_learning_2...