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That someone said "I learned X from Y" is not evidence he's correct.
by xenophanes 17y ago
That someone said "I learned X from Y" is not evidence he's correct.
- btilly 17y agoTrue. But conversely that you don't see how that someone learned X from Y is not evidence that he's wrong. The experience of seeing how easy it is for an almost correct statement to sound authoritative, or to be arrived at from almost correct reasoning, does cement the lesson of how easy it is for experts to be wrong. The practice of listening to an expert sounding authoritative and listening for the mistake gives practice in that skill. Applying that practice with other experts would give ample verification of the value of listening to "experts" with that care. I am not at all surprised that this would teach the lesson and it would stick.