3 ms·

I have no opinion about this guy one way or the other. Even brilliant people can make mistakes, and even brilliant scientists can be victims of their own preco

by Udo 15y ago

I have no opinion about this guy one way or the other. Even brilliant people can make mistakes, and even brilliant scientists can be victims of their own preconceptions. I'm not trying to trash his life's work, I'm having serious doubts about the premises and results of this study specifically. [Edit] Just a strange observation: yours is essentially an argument from authority (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority) and yet mods seem to love it.

capnrefsmmat 15y ago
Appeals to authority aren't necessarily fallacious if the authority is an authority in a relevant field.
- Udo 15y ago
  While the authority may not necessarily be wrong, the appeal itself is vulnerable to being issued for fallacious reasons, namely if it is made to prevent critical reasoning about the original hypothesis. The idea that authorities are infallible is a trap. Nothing should be beyond scrutiny.
Volpe 15y ago
Not quite, It was pointed out it was a cited article, you called the author into question, and was shown the author is credible. The only fallacies are coming from your posts, not from the article in question... :\
- Udo 15y ago
  As I said many times in this thread: I called the study's conclusions into question, not the author. > The only fallacies are coming from your posts, not from the article in question... :\ After fighting you guys for the last our without one single person agreeing with me, I'm inclined to say you're right. I should probably stop posting now. It wasn't my intention to upset anyone. I'm sorry.
  - swombat 15y ago
    Don't be sorry. You haven't hurt anyone's feelings (and if you have, they were too fragile to survive long on HN). It's fine to defend your arguments and later realise you're wrong. That doesn't make you a lesser person - on the contrary, you're someone who now knows one more thing. That's good. If HN can do that more often, that's good.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
  - drumdance 15y ago
    > After fighting you guys... Competitive much? :)
    - Udo 15y ago
      No. That's why I quit this discussion.

by Udo 15y ago

capnrefsmmat 15y ago

Appeals to authority aren't necessarily fallacious if the authority is an authority in a relevant field.

Udo 15y ago
While the authority may not necessarily be wrong, the appeal itself is vulnerable to being issued for fallacious reasons, namely if it is made to prevent critical reasoning about the original hypothesis. The idea that authorities are infallible is a trap. Nothing should be beyond scrutiny.

Volpe 15y ago

Not quite, It was pointed out it was a cited article, you called the author into question, and was shown the author is credible. The only fallacies are coming from your posts, not from the article in question... :\

Udo 15y ago
As I said many times in this thread: I called the study's conclusions into question, not the author. > The only fallacies are coming from your posts, not from the article in question... :\ After fighting you guys for the last our without one single person agreeing with me, I'm inclined to say you're right. I should probably stop posting now. It wasn't my intention to upset anyone. I'm sorry.
- swombat 15y ago
  Don't be sorry. You haven't hurt anyone's feelings (and if you have, they were too fragile to survive long on HN). It's fine to defend your arguments and later realise you're wrong. That doesn't make you a lesser person - on the contrary, you're someone who now knows one more thing. That's good. If HN can do that more often, that's good.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- drumdance 15y ago
  > After fighting you guys... Competitive much? :)
  - Udo 15y ago
    No. That's why I quit this discussion.