5 ms·

Very weird indeed. Although I agree with the reasoning, despite of the authority.

• jdmichal 11y ago
  Agreed. This feels like some sort of inverse appeal-to-authority. "You can't be this kind of expert, therefore your assertions are false."
  • AndrewKemendo 11y ago
    If you start your post with "I'm an authority" then you are inducing the appeal to authority implicitly through Priming.
    • EGreg 11y ago
      Similarly if you start your post with "I am not an authority, but..."
    • jdmichal 11y ago
      You are committing the same folly you accuse him of. It would be fine to simply point out his use of it, but following that up with: "I'm surprised you got as many credulous responses as you did." You are basically doing the same thing. Prime that he is not an expert, then state that he should not be getting credulous responses. The implication of course being that his not being an expert means that his argument does not deserve credible thought and response. Also, there's always a fine line with appeal to authority with regards to experts, which you would hope a judge would be in the field of law. For instance, is it folly to point to consensus in science? That is, after all, nothing but an authority.