I'm not an expert in any particular field. I'm not an expert in infectious disease or immunology. I know my limitations so when I want reliable information on these subjects I look to people who are considered to be experts by their peers. I don't look to keyboard warriors or self proclaimed heroes. I don't look to social media or memes on Facebook for advice. But most of all I don't look to conspiracy theorist who can't back up their theories with actual data.
If I break my leg I'll look to an orthopedic surgeon and not someone who treats people with aroma therapy or essential oils.
If my car has a mechanical problem that is beyond my abilities I look to a mechanic.
As I said, I know my limitations and my ego is not so fragile that I can't admit that I don't know the answer to something. It also doesn't bruise my ego to admit that someone knows more about a subject than I do.
Because I may admire and respect someone's abilities and expertise doesn't mean I consider them to be my "better".
That's actually a very well written response, and surprisingly, I'm in full & complete agreement with nearly every point you made here - with two exceptions (one primary, one derivative)...
(tl;dr warning)
First, while I respect that you know your limitations - recognize that I have a deep understanding of mine as well. And in this context, they are very few - and primarily of a time/bandwidth nature - which tends to result in limited patience for the deliberately unthinking.
While I may be an outlier, there is no field of study or Practice in which I would not have excelled, given a desire in that direction. (if there's need to learn something important, it gets learned - and damn quickly)
I also have tremendous respect for those who have embraced their Devine gift of Reason and intellect/craftsmanship/etc. This most certainly includes those who have achieved Mastery of their Craft - of course I want the best doctors, mechanics, etc. There's even great respect for the agency of a formidable foe (but that's a different topic).
That said, charlatans get no respect, nor those who have been blinded by ego or willfully abdicated their Reason in favor of emotional/cognitive bias. They're typically easy to spot (and much more so lately), and once identified, who gives a shit a about their whateverthefuck credentials...
Notice that unlike some, I haven't been trying to 'convince' anyone of anything, simply sharing knowledge and/or perspectives, and other ways of thinking about things - which is the key to a healthy bullshit detector, and spotting those like previously described.
*(note: given the remarkable similarities in your turn-of-phrase above re: fragility of ego to a recent post of mine, it appears even you may have gained something).
Also, hate wasting my time or breath. One of the main reasons I post here at all is due to the great respect I have for the majority of TGT members (but not all), and the ocean of knowledge and experience they represent - and a desire to interact productively with fellow Humans, both learning and teaching as time goes by.
I don't have to post, or freely share any knowledge/experience (sometimes hard-earned); however, the fact I'm even still alive and able to bang-on-keys is a combination of luck, enormous effort, a number of what could be considered miracles, and possibly even a dash of cosmic design tossed in the mix. I shouldn't be here, but I am (which implies Purpose). I don't have all the answers - far from it; but as I learn and grow (through constant application of effort to that end), there's a strongly corresponding desire to help other Humans on their journey. That said, I could give two shits about wasting my effort on closed minds.
DD, the reason I've even continued to reply in this thread is that you've been generally respectful in your disagreement, but that doesn't mean I don't realize how deeply you've dug your heels in, and quite frankly, see no reason to do your thinking for you (I don't do my kids homework for them either).
The reason I'm not doing a point-by-point refute of your earlier post is that, lengthy as this curremt post may be, it reperesents the barest fraction of what would be required to detail that in its entirety, inclusive of all foundational knowledge required to correct said faulty premises. Why should I bother to invest all that time and effort?
Short version - it's certainty of the exclusive accuracy of your statements wherein the main fault in reasoning lies (which of course is absolutey intended, as they're not actually "your" words now, are they?...)
Anyway, proceed as you will...The point has been made for any who wish to see it.
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