On 7/28/05, Ryan Delaney <ryan.delaney(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Generally speaking (and I am speaking from my personal
experience here)
whenever what I am calling a "learned expert" -- be it a graduate
student in a subject or a PhD or a professional with years of time on
the job -- makes contributions, they are well argued and highly
referenced. As you say, these people have a lot of experience making
these kinds of arguments and I think their method of discovering truth
is the best one we have. So no, I don't want to tell the public that
"they are wrong and that they should pay attention to their academic
betters". I don't think it should even have to be said.
I've found that "learned experts" on WP sometimes use themselves as
references to push their own POVs, and if you then ask them for
sources, they provide impressive-looking material that doesn't
actually address the issue.
NOR applies just as much to self-proclaimed experts as anyone else.
--
Peter in Canberra