We should probably moderate appeals to authority when they are relied on too much.
There's not much point to such comments since they hinge on certifications/degrees/etc the rest of us have little reason to believe in.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell
They do seem pointless... Or at least, irrelevant to the validity of a particular argument. Unless the user's profession plays a role in a particular account, i.e. Steve being a pilot, it comes across as pretentious lurker bait.
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(2017-08-19, 07:24 AM)malf Wrote: I could've sworn I've seen you ask for details of other posters' STEM qualifications in the past?
Only when people referred to studies, their knowledge of scientific academia, importance of statistical sampling, etc. I did also ask for explanations of things in papers people referenced, only to be accused of bullying by a skeptic which was quite surreal.
Note I never demanded a philosophy degree from Paul.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell