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> There should be a word for requests for data citations that are really just disguised admissions of having no meaningful response to a point. I'd be careful
by Natsu 12y ago
> There should be a word for requests for data citations that are really just disguised admissions of having no meaningful response to a point.
I'd be careful about this one. People don't always have the same news sources, so what constitutes "common knowledge" for one person might be alien to another.
Personally, I expect myself to be able to provide a citation for anything reasonably controversial or not widely known and I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with asking someone to show their work.
After all, there's the opposite side of this coin: someone who isn't giving evidence because they cannot. I mean, if I claim to have a unicorn in my garage, I can't reasonably expect everyone to accept it on my say-so. I know that's not at all the scenario you have in mind, but I think you'd hate to have someone engaged in such behavior justifying it with your logic when that's not what you meant at all.
- protonfish 12y agoA citation to what? When few are allowed to publish, and what is submitted to be published is heavily filtered, and the final articles are being paywalls, how can a plea for citations be a legitimate request? If you are claiming you have a unicorn in your garage, I don't want citations - I want EVIDENCE. A picture would be a fine place to start. I can't imagine any citation being of value either pro or con. In a discussion I want to read evidence or reason - everything else is filler.
- Natsu 12y ago> A citation to what? When few are allowed to publish, I think you just exposed the root of this. You're thinking a citation has to be a scientific paper or something equivalent. I'm saying that when you argue something, you should be willing to cite ordinary evidence, of which a scientific paper is just one kind. A photo would be a perfectly reasonable thing to cite as evidence.