Re:ZFS vs. Hammer
by f2f on Friday January 02, 2015 @10:38PM
(#8829842)
i'm sorry but "i'm no expert" is not an excuse for trying to change people's minds. that's how anti-vaxxers are born.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Indeed. This is the "Appeal to Lack of Authority" fallacy [1]
Authority has a reputation for being corrupt and inflexible, and this stereotype has been leveraged by some who assert that their own lack of authority somehow makes them a better authority.
Starling might say of the 9/11 attacks: "Every reputable structural engineer understands how fire caused the Twin Towers to collapse."
Bombo can reply: "I'm not an expert in engineering or anything, I'm just a regular guy asking questions."
Starling: "We should listen to what the people who know what they're talking about have to say."
Bombo: "Someone needs to stand up to these experts."
The idea that not knowing what you're talking about somehow makes you heroic or more reliable is incorrect. More likely, your lack of expertise simply makes you wrong.