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I haven't said it's not name calling, but only that it is not an ad hominem, as the very thing in question is Mr Hersh's credibility. Is it wrong to suggest so
by mannerheim 4y ago
I haven't said it's not name calling, but only that it is not an ad hominem, as the very thing in question is Mr Hersh's credibility.
Is it wrong to suggest someone who has made a number of outlandish claims in recent years and is quite elderly is suffering from a degraded mental state, as we all know is wont to happen to the elderly?
If, say, Linus Pauling published in the 90s something along the lines of 'I've discovered the secret to immortality, and no, I won't provide any verifiable evidence for it, you just have to trust me' after decades of passing off Vitamin C as a cure for cancer, and everybody was saying 'well Linus Pauling is one of the greatest biochemists of our time, he's won the Nobel Prize', is it out of bounds to say, well, maybe at one point, but the man is 90 now and clearly lost his marbles some years ago?
- pvg 4y agoIs it wrong to suggest someone who has made a number of outlandish claims in recent years and is quite elderly is suffering from a degraded mental state, as we all know is wont to happen to the elderly? That's not actually the thing you are getting all this flak for - we don't have to decide or agree if it's 'wrong' on some broad scale or whether or not it constitutes a logical fallacy. It's corrosive to the notion of a (however imperfect and irritating) internet forum that aims for interestingness and curious conversation. Which is why it's in the written guidelines, the reams of mod comments, the mod-scolding you got earlier. Globally wrong or not, you can't do it on HN because it would kill HN.
- mannerheim 4y agoWell, perhaps an Internet forum that aims for interestingness and curious conversation should also aim for the intellectual honesty of admitting that the mental faculties of individuals diminish as they age.