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Re:Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics by AlbertCory on Friday June 09, 2023 @07:04PM (#36265521)
> better qualified to judge the academic quality of his work than actual academics with the proper background

that argument only holds up if the group with the "proper background" is NOT a giant echo chamber where non-conformity is ruthlessly punished.

Re:Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics by vanderZwan on Saturday June 10, 2023 @12:22PM (#36271860)
Can you specify which fields you have in mind and why you think so, or are you speaking in hypotheticals just for the sake of appearing to make a counterpoint?
Re:Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics by AlbertCory on Saturday June 10, 2023 @12:28PM (#36271922)
I guess you think this is a witty thing to say.

we're already talking about a specific field.

Re:Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics by vanderZwan on Saturday June 10, 2023 @02:32PM (#36273434)
No, I think you're trying to dismiss critics of Diamond without ever engaging with the actual criticism by blanket-accusing them of living in "an echo chamber" (and missing the irony of doing so on HN), without providing a shred of evidence.

It's a wonderful mental trick to convince yourself you're right without fact-checking yourself, not to mention dismiss any field of expertise that you disagree with, but it doesn't actually prove anything.

Re:Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics by AlbertCory on Saturday June 10, 2023 @02:58PM (#36273748)
Well, I think you're trying to dismiss defenders of Diamond by saying "those people aren't published 'experts' in the field."

Which is, as you said, "a wonderful mental trick to convince yourself you're right without fact-checking yourself." They're not in our club, so they don't count.