3 ms·
You forming a personal opinion after years of interest in the subject is fine. You asserting that opinion as a fact is the problem. It is a tale as old as time
by david-gpu 8mo ago
You forming a personal opinion after years of interest in the subject is fine. You asserting that opinion as a fact is the problem.
It is a tale as old as time. See the story behind the term. ultracrepidarian: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ultracrepidarian#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ultracrepidarian#English
- MarkusQ 7mo agoVersus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority See also: https://www.science.org/content/article/potential-fabrication-research-images-threatens-key-theory-alzheimers-disease https://www.science.org/content/article/potential-fabricatio... Amateur's asserting their opinions as facts isn't great, but epistemologically it's no worse (and systemically, like less harmful) than when the experts do it.
- david-gpu 7mo agoExperts, when given the chance, have a tendency to speak with nuance and describe the degree of confidence they have in different statements. Compare this with an amateur writing with certainty about a subject that subject matter experts continue to debate after decades of work. I know which one of the two I would rather bother listening to.
- MarkusQ 7mo agoYou just moved the goal post. Saying that experts are less likely to do X doesn't say anything about the relative harm of their doing so. If some rando on the streets is shouting their opinion about what causes Alzheimer's and asserting it's God's Own Truth, it's going to cause less overall harm that a carefully worded (but equally wrong) statement from an expert. (And the fact that we tend to hold experts in higher regard is the reason we should be more concerned about them stating their opinions as facts than about amateurs doing the same.)