"You should trust X's judgement because X is an expert in his field" and "You shouldn't trust Y's judgement because Y is acting like a crank" are both, given th

"You should trust X's judgement because X is an expert in his field" and "You shouldn't trust Y's judgement because Y is acting like a crank" are both, given the right context, completely reasonable arguments to make. They have no place in a mathematics proof or another exercise in pure deductive reasoning, but very few real-world arguments involve pure deductive reasoning. More on this from an old classmate of mine: http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/cyberia-l/msg19080.html http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/cyberia-l/msg19080.htm... See also "Flamer Bingo": http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009186.html http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009186.html