Re:Why Climate Deniers Have No Scientific Credibility
by gruseom on Thursday December 13, 2012 @02:53AM
(#4914809)
And yet appeal to authority remains a fallacy, and it is possible for social proof to fail. Some people would like to sweep this paradox under the rug, but it's not that simple. Not so long ago, a similar survey of published authorities as the OP's would have yielded results we today would consider preposterous.
History and philosophy have much to teach us here, for example about the perils of overconfidence.
After all, there is no way for you or I to determine the speed of propagation of gravity, so what choice do we have other than to rely on other's authority?